Law

Jan week2, Motor-bikes, gender, what types of lawsuits covered?, public domain expansion 2025, training data disclosure, Chinese routers
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New California law changes what can be considered an 'electric bicycle'
Some have to be sold not as bicycles but as motor vehicles. Modifications too. 25mph or 750watts or remove pedals.

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Restaurant Out of Business After “Ladies’ Night” Lawsuit (youtube.com)
Discrimination lawsuit. Insurance doenst even cover lots of types of lawsuits (gender discrimination).

Mothers Day freebies have also been targetted in these states.

In some courts, the majority of trials are debt collection, Lehto said.

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Thousands of creative works enter public domain (youtube.com)
1929 is expired. 29 was the year of the first talkies, and by famous directors. Hemingway, Faulkner, and others' books. Singin' in the Rain, Ain't Misbehavin',

Popeye, Tintin join Mickey, Whiny, Tarzan, Oz, and Sherlock. Steamboat Mickey can be used on any TV show doing anything. He recently appeared (dressed up in a costume) on a late night talk show, to help out there. Incongruity. Someone could open a theme park called 'Mickeyland' I guess, or maybe 1900's Land.

‘The lowbudget slasher flick appears to be an inevitability when these beloved characters enter the public domain.’

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CNN Faces MASSIVE Defamation Lawsuit With Unfriendly Jury (youtube.com)

In 2026, EU's AI law will require disclosing training data for LLMs.

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US Government to BanTP-Link Devices - Live Hacking of a Chinese WiFi Router (youtube.com)
Chinese routers, which I guess they think makes it easier to hack them. Thank you, Chinese hackers? It's seemed that the only way for regular governments and regular peope to do anything smart with their devices, which they have for years just allowed themselves to be spied on, is when something actually bad happens because of it, and then they change. Without Chinese hackers, perhaps the US government would never outlaw these routers that are a security flaw for people.

December
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EP#192 | Never Use Snapchat If You’re Dating; This Case Will Terrify You (youtube.com)
Canada.

Because Snap is set to auto delete stuff, it will delete some stuff and not other stuff. So some might be deleted, which might be the part that demonstrates innocence of criminality, but other stuff might still be there.

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Organised waste crime and ‘mass intimidation’ in English village (youtube.com)
UK.

‘Massive illegal dump’. He doesn't think the government is set up to handle organized crime. 'Completely abandoned by the authorities', ‘scared to speak out.’ If they felt they would be protected by the police, or the police would come out and help them, they would speak out. People don't even put likes on Facebook posts because of fear of retribution. ‘Massive crime on display.’

‘I think it’s agencies passing people round and round the system.' ‘You’ve got the council saing It's not our problem. The environment agency were therefore not quick enough to act. The police not saying it was their problem either. People don't care whose responsibility it is, they just want someone to grip it.'

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Amazon Open Letter Ethical AI, Climate, and Labor Demands (youtube.com)
Shouldn't desired AI be ‘selfish’ AI, or ‘unaccountable AI,’ which would be planning for the natural nature of the thing in question, the same way Capitalism and government checks and balances systems plan for the natural issues of using those tools?

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The Supreme Court’s Warning About Mass Surveillance (Carpenter Explained) (youtube.com)
In public places, people don't surrender all their Fourth Amendment rights, the Supreme Court has said.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QRd7ZO0E7PQ
Flock?

Fog Data Science? Project NOLA (not for profit) which calls it's camera's ‘crime cameras’ instead of ‘surveillance cameras’, subliminatl marketing trick which misleads the public into ‘convinving the public that if they are not committing a crime, these cameras are not recording their movements 24/7 365.’

Flock similarly calls their company ‘Flock Safety’ instead of ‘Flock Surveillance.’

People do not voluntarily ‘share’ their location information as the word ‘share’ is commonly understood.

Lots of semantics in this practice.

...

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What digital sovereignty? How a Canadian Court is forcing a French company to break French law (youtube.com)
Demanding a company that had operations in France and Canada to hand over data from both locations, or that was stored in France, to UK and Australia.

The Canadian SC is ordering a French company to do something that would violate a French law that protect France's data sovereignty.

The issue wasn't so much Canada ordering the Canadian base of the French company, but ordering the French part to do something with the data stored in France.

OVH Parent has a ‘virtual presense’ in Canada, and based on the Brecknell case and some following it, a virtual presense is enough.

Part of it was that the company presents itself (on its website) as a unified global business' and therefore is sufficiently connected to Canada.

Another part of this case is that the French law in question is often treated as an ‘empty vessel,’ ie when it is broken (perhaps frequently), it is not prosecuted, and the sense is ‘Yep, it’s a law, but let's largely ignore it.'

Another part is that these large multinational companies, like Craigslist in another relevant case, are not present during parts of the trials. It's the police and the prosecution arguing for jurisdiction.

If these Canadian police arrived at the parent company in France to serve a warrant they'd ‘likely be arrested for tresspassing.’ These trials perhaps proceed only because they're done outside of the country they try to effect.

‘A key principle of international law as applied in Canada is that Canadian law does not operate extraterritorially outside of Canada, unless Parliament explicitly provides for it.’ Enforcement jurisdiction. The difference between an order and a request. Offend other country's sovereignty.

'Court treats ordinary corporate structure as a legal fiction.' By treating OVH as essentially one company. ?

Calling yourself a ‘global’ company is not a legal admission of control, it is simply marketing, he says.

Corporate separateness (from legal persons) is generally only disregarded where there is an actual fraud going on.

OVH in this case is not suspected of any crime. It simply is believed to maybe have records about someone that may be relavant to a Canadian investigation.

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Supreme Court issues DANGEROUS announcement (youtube.com)
Lots of headlines.

I think his appointees maybe have to at least entertain his move, even if they already know they can't or don't want to grant it.

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Attorney, ex-police chief: Don’t hand over your cell phone during traffic stops (youtube.com)
Police admitted in court he stole nude photos of women who handed their phones to him at traffic stops. He had over 20 women's photos he got that way.

There is no situation where you're required to hand over your phone to police, they say, without a warrant.

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YouTube (youtube.com)

Case Adjourned When Jurors Can't Be Found Who Are Willing to Convict (youtube.com)
‘What if we told you there was a law against someone feeding the homeless (without the city's permission), and what if someone did this, could you vote to convict him?’

In this case it seems the people weren't too against the law, but against the possible fine of $500.

Too many potential jurors said that even if he were found guilty, they were unwilling to issue the fine the city attorney was seeking.

‘They’re not openminded enough to be able to enforce the law.'

It was a loosly organized group that serves meals in a parking lot to people in need.

‘So far the city has lost every single case.’

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U.S. Travel Risks | Your Morning (youtube.com)
200 or so, up a bit from what US did before.

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If the Cops Are Unlawfully Shooting at Me, Can I Shoot Back? (youtube.com)
Tigger happy cops in Texas shot up the homewner in the middle of the night.

Immanent threat, felony being commited upon you or your home. Texas has castle law, no requirement to retreat. First aggressor standard, aggressor can't later claim self defence.

She was encountered with unlawful lethal force used against her. The police were not acting on any lawful authority at the time. She certainly was having a felony (felony attempted murder) committed against her and at her home.

You can basically always shoot back at someone who attempts to kill you or someone around you, in the US, it seems, doesn't matter who they are or on what assumptions they attack you.

Commenter. ‘Defense against the police should be normalized.’

November
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The DOJ Indicted a YouTuber (Kat Abu), and It's Crap (youtube.com)
What if we pretend assemblies of people aren't protests but are actually a conspiracy, and lock up everyone who shows up because one of them breaks the law?

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France moves to suspend Shein website | DW News (youtube.com)
‘How dangerous is Shein?’ Protests (of a couple people) outside the Shein store in Paris.

‘Fortunately NGOs are there to point out the existence of these things, beacuse public authorities no longer control what is sold, and fail to carry out checks, as the volumes are so large.’

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AI company Anthropic to pay $1.5 billion to settle author in lawsuit (youtube.com)
Largest copyright settlement. 77m books ‘illegally plagiarized.’ Put into their database, used to generate something completely different. Made a $250b AI product with it and didn't even let the authors know they had used their works.

Anthropic to compensate 500k authors $3000 each. Anthropic doesn't have to acknowledge wrongdoing.

There are 40 other lawsuits ongoing with big authors.

How do we determine the value of this use? Who decides?

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Cities Shut Off Flock Cameras After Court Loss (youtube.com)
‘Judge says Flock camera photos are public records.’

The government is taking all these pictures and videos of us, all the time and everywhere, and they're paying for it with tax dollars, so some guy was like I'd like to see what they're taking pictures of, can't I file a FOIA request? The judge said yes they are. The government responded by saying well if other people get to see it, then it's a violation of privacy now. It's always funny to see people change their arguments when the thing in question applies negatively to them.

License plate readers too.

Why did it take so long for this to be actioned? It was a tattoo artist who did it. He was worried about government overreach. The government filed a lawsuit against him after he filed his FOIA saying no you can't see that. But the judge found that yes, citizens can.

Last month, it was found and reported, Federal agents accessed Flock cameras by asking for footage, possibly violating a state law.

‘In a roundabout and very strange way, this tattoo artist may have figured out how to make this stop.’

Skagit.

...

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Tariffs on Trial: What’s at Stake in Trump’s Supreme Court Argument (youtube.com)
Whether the president has violated the constition. ‘No taxation without representation.’ Congress does taxes, not the president, and Congress regulates foreign commerse, not the president, under the Constitution, and the tariffs were without Congress, if it can be understood that tariffs are taxes.

The delegation to the president of this right is technical and based on a bill.

IEPA case.

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EP#189 | Why Mandatory Minimums Are Bad (youtube.com)

The Quebec supreme court stuck the manditory minimum, continuing the trend, for CP. It violated Sec 1 of the Charter, because mandatory minimums cover a broad range of facts and scenarios, and leaves no choice but to impose a grossly disproportionate sentence on some offenders. In some cases, it constitutes cruel and unusual punishment.

In the case, an 18 year old received a nude image of a 17 year old, without asking for it, and from a third person, and didn't delete it and did access it.

Judges should be free to decide appropriate or just sentences, they argue. Sentencing should not be done by politicians, in any shape or form, because politicians are motivated by political interests based upon opinions of a public that is not informed, partially because our ‘legacy media’ spews bs. ... Politicians are motivated by optics.

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John Carpay discusses the Cowichan land ruling in B.C. (youtube.com)
Some judges think there is good racism and bad racism, he said. ‘Inter generational guilt.'

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“Efficient justice or a violation of rights?” The use of ‘Certified’ evidence causing debate in som (youtube.com)
The police are trying to just use an image of the ticket they gave the person as their entire evidence, saying that ticket is proof beyond a reasonable doubt, instead of the officer actually having to have some real proof. No further evidence being put forward.

The local government of Durham said they thought this was ‘an efficient administration of justice.’

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Is ICE in the US operating as secret police? | The Take (youtube.com)
On US streets, vehicles with no markings rolling up, masked men just bundling up people and driving off. Americans don't know what to do. Should they ‘just run’? Is this legal? Americans haven't seen this type of force. Homeland says it is legal, and masking is necessary because of attacks against agents.

Is it a dangerous move towards authoritarianism? Advent of an unaccountable and unfettered national police force that operates anonymously on the order of the president. 'For a lot of people that crosses a bright red line.'

What is the effect on public trust and accountability.

Some reports of people dressing as ICE and robbing or assaulting people. At least 5 incidents acknowledged by the government.

65k people are currently in ICE detention.

How did this ICE suddenly happen? DHS is a 20 year old agency. The Office of Civil Rights at DHS is ‘all but gone’ now.

When people are arrested, often they don't even know ‘Who arrested me?,’ so how do you proceed?

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RCMP top brass avoid charges in Tasering death (youtube.com)
20 years ago, cops rushed a distraught man holding a chair as a possible weapon.

Chief officers held back evidence against the cops, it is alleged.

I have these pictures from a better time. When things were beautiful, and seeing images people posted of beauty you wanted to chase it and achieve it in and for yourself too. You joined this circle of people who had done it. There's a black and white pciture, from Tumblr no doubt, of a young man and woman pressed up against each other, an arm around the other, kissing ‘let’s get drunk together so I can kiss you and then blame it on the vodke.' Hard to believe now, at that time that was a fun sexy reminder, something that reminded us to go do that. Now it's a vicious counterattack against sexist and unjust attacks against men, proof. But I have those photos, tons of them, from another year I know, and I can plaster my walls with them and forget all the current shit.

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DoorDash delivery person arrested for surveillance video of a person without consent (youtube.com)
The driver said she was ‘assaulted’ by a naked man passed out on his couch. She posted a video of him on SM. Actually, no sexual assault took place, said the police, and she had committed a crime against the man for posting a video or recording of him without his consent. She faces two felonies, one for recording the naked man, and the other for posting it ‘for millions to see.’

Doordash used TikTok to speak against the woman and fired her (after the news story).

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LAWYER: What to Do When Cops Say They Smell Weed (youtube.com)
'That phrase, ‘I smell marijuana’ is one of the most abused for a search in North Carolina.'

How do these cases play out in court?

'That phrase is not just a casual comment. In NC that phrase is almost always about the officer justifying a search or digging deeper into your situation.'

Another reason to legalize weed?

When an officer says that, the energy shifts immediately. You may feel angry or nervous. He advices you not to raise your voice or get impolite.

Keep hands visible and calmly say ‘Officer, I don’t have anything illegal in the car.' Don't consent to a search. The officer may say, ‘May I search your vehicle?' Say ‘Officer, I do not consent to any searches,’ politely. They might search anyway if they said they smell marijuana, but you're giving your attorney more options because you protected your rights. 'Don't admit or explain, just remain silent,' because they want to get you talking. ‘It may feel like you need to or should answer, but you should not.’ Say, ‘Officer, I chose to remain silent' or ‘I do not wish to answer any questions without my attorney.’ Keep it short, don't get into a debate. Don't even make a joke.

The officer is probably going to search your car if they say that, regardless, but they still do not have the right to search your body, your phone, or your home just because they say they smell weed in your car.

Document everything. You need to remember everything.

In some cases, the officer's claim that he smelled weed doesn't hold up under scrutiny. Sometimes it doesn't match the footage, or there's a good argument the search was illegal.

Hemp and MJ can smell the same, so the smell isn't necessarily evidence there is weed present.

Father faces child torture charges after 'nightmare' hike in Big Cottonwood Canyon (youtube.com)
9 mile wilderness hike. The weather turned nasty half way through the hike. It rained on them. They attempted to hike down. They were numb and cold. The prosecutors are saying the father acted in a ‘depraved manner that caused emotional harm to the children' and charged him with child abuse.

Guess families that go hiking won't be calling Search and Rescue anymore.

The comments were overwhelmingly against the father, saying 9 miles is too far a hike for young children.

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How did court rulings on AI training data reshape copyright law? (youtube.com)
If the fine is cheaper than the cost it would have been to buy plus the time it would take to settle the purchase, it's a pretty easy calculation that it is better to violate copyrights of creators.

October
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Supreme Court Gives Trump a Win in Birthright Citizenship Battle! (youtube.com)

Sacks talked about a regulation for AI companies where the companies are obliged to report any threats (nuclear, bio, hacking) to the government.

All 50 states are passing aimless AI legislation. They don't even know what they want to regulate or how to implement it. Blue states ban ‘algorhythmic discrimination’ etc, and the developer and the business are in violation in Colorado (where discrimination is already illegal anyway, so what does the law add?). The models will have to build in a DEI layer to prevent disparate outcomes (even if truthful). Not laws to do with harm, just to do with oversight, giving the government approval systems, regulatory control over private systems, the ability to go in and investigate.

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Trump’s ‘unlawful combatants’ designation sparking legal firestorm (youtube.com)
‘A non international armed conflict’ with some drug cartels. NIAC. They're using the language that has been codified, like Bush used language after 911. Putting alleged drug smugglers in same class as Al Queda or ISIS.

The Supreme Court will decide if this fits the language.

At least 4 drug boats in international waters bombed in a week, killing at least 20 people, reportedly. ‘Now we just can’t find any,' Trump recently said.

Are they just getting the info they're using from WhatsApp? Where else could they be getting it? Satelite surveillance?

Still not sure they're actually doing this. Maybe just drone driving some boats out there and blowing them up to scare people.

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Who is Karin Immergut, the judge who stopped Trump’s Portland troop deployment? (youtube.com)
Found White House's rationale for deploying forces in Portland was ‘untethered to the facts’. No evidence of president's claims of 'mass chaos' to justify it.

Probe continues after blaze destroys SC judge’s home (youtube.com)
Last month she blocked SC from handing over its voter database to the Trump DOJ, a decision that was later reversed by the SC.

No evidence of foul play.

September
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Hegseth Says He Has 'Absolute Authority' To Kill Suspected Drug Traffickers (youtube.com)
You're allowed to kill people without trial or corporal punishment law now? Just ‘smoke’ them in some boat? Isn't that called ‘murder’?

People in the video and comments throwing around a familiar term for US governments, ‘war criminal.’

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Algorithms Are Rewriting the Rules of Prices and Wages (youtube.com)
Any specific pricing (specific price for an indivual, regardless of anything) should be illegal. It has a chilling effect on the economy. If I think a service will charge me more if I log into their website and it knows I want to use it, or I've paid more before, I will tend to be too wary to log in, which means I'll just use the sight less and do the thing less. I'm sure almost everyone's that way. But barring a law, there's every incentive for the companies to do it.

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State Supreme Court Says Police Need Better Waivers Before Questioning (youtube.com)
Maine, where the state constitution is a little stricter than the US Constitution on this subject. In Maine, their supreme court made clear, when dealing with police citizens have their rights by default and up until they waive them. ‘Police must secure an explicit waiver of the right against self incrimination before questioning a subject in custody without counsel, and they also must halt interrogation to seek clarification if a suspect asserts their rights ambiguously.' The person questioned has to actually say ‘I waive that right’ or some other clear and unequivocal waiver. Since such language is not even in the vocabulary of Americans (except some lawyers), it seems unlikely anyone would even be capable of waiving this right if that is what is required.

That's a very different style of policing. Not sure how that will play out.

(The judge said that such a clear and unequivocal waiver is required for all waivers of constitutional rights.)

In this Maine departs from the US Supreme Court's decision that when a suspect invokes their rights ambiguously, questioning can continue.

‘I think most people would agree that if the US Constitution says you’ve got these rights, you should have these rights,' said Lehto, when he was saying he thought the US Supreme Court should also decide this. ‘But apparently they’ve been chipping away at that over the years.'

Lehto made a good point, that since everyone basically has seen TV shows where police read rights to suspects, we might be tempted to assume everyone knows he has this right and what the right is, but since every day, today for example, thousands of people will be arrested, many of whom never expected to be arrested for anything ever, despite the fact that portions of their arrest will feel familiar because they've watched the TV shows, it will be new to them, and there's a very good change they'll be overwhelmed by those circumstances to the point where you will forget you have those rights. Or maybe more likely will forget the importance of them, or have the steel will to stick by them in the face of peer pressure or tricks the police have practiced every day a dozen times for years, to get people to incriminate themselves (sometimes against harmdoers and sometimes against non harm doers).

‘If you had an attorney present during an arrest the first thing he’d tell you is shut your mouth and don't speak to them.' ‘What if they ask me my name?’ ‘You can tell them your name.’ ‘What if they ask me what I was doing tonight?’ ‘Shut your mouth.’ ‘Don’t talk. Invoke your right.'

Police will say, ‘Well right now we’re still investigating. This is your opportunity to tell us what happened. And it will go a long way towards making things right.'

August
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City Removes Surveillance Camera After Letter from IJ (youtube.com)
IJJ. Support them morally or financially. It doesn't have to be money. Send them a message. Comment on their SM. I also saw a post with a photo of the CEO of Flock reading that there were currently 70k cameras linked doing surveillance in the US by this company, and their plan was to 'elminate crime in the US', and all, I mean all, the comments were against them, with hundreds of upvotes each comment, the top one being 'that if you don't 'Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety,' Ben Franklin

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Futurehome CEO threatens police action after I offer $5,000 bounty to free his ransomed customers (youtube.com)
Smart devices that no longer work on will only work if you pay an extortion fee to the company.

Norwegian company sold a bunch of smart home devices, then went bankrupt, so they sold the company, and the new owners pushed an update that made the already installed devices in peoples homes not work anymore, unless the owners start paying a subscription fee.

Rossman offered $5k for anyone who hacks this so they work. CEO said this was illegal hacking. Is it?

It seems Rossman is increasingly frustrated, ie actual expression of anger. Including Alex Jones style outbursts on his videos. Does this mean we're a bit closer to people actually getting angry, standing up for themselves, and taking actual action against companies and governments?

Comment 'You might want to point your attorneys to Norwegian Criminal Code Sections 382, 383, 384, 385, 387, and 388. Especially section 385: Fraudulent Double Sale.' ... But I'd rather that people were pushed a bit futher, until they actually develop awareness and response to mistreatment.

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Canadians Charged In Terrorism And Night Vision Case (youtube.com)
A bunch of soldiers in Quebec arrested for ‘terrorism’.

Gen3 night vision is illegal in Canada.

These soldiers if charged will just make them heros to all who hate the abusive government.
Parents Sue HISD For Referring To Daughter As Boy (youtube.com)
Seems like they could be sued either way they went.

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Ontario police charge a man for defending his home against an intruder. We’ve got to help! (youtube.com)
In Canada, a serial criminal man, well known to the police, broke into a man's home, and the man beat the guy in his home, and the police showed up and charged the homeowner with assault.

Rebel News is helping the home owner, since his government won't. They're paying his legal bills, as well as reporting on the story and setting up a Castle Law website, CastleLawNow.com.

Tough on crime? Tough on citizens is so much easier, isn't it?

Top comment was ‘1st mistake is calling the police. They are not your friends here.’ Good point, so allowing government to monitor people is only harmful to citizens, since law enforcemnt is used against them even when they're doing what they should.

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Lawsuit Over Police Searches At the Airport Can Proceed (youtube.com)
Eric Andre. Atlanta.

Boarding, and then appears some officers who say Hey can I search you bags? Not by TSA, but by local police.

The police say he gave consent for the search, but he said he didn't really. And people in that situation probably usually feel they're under duress to assent to a search. As you're boarding. ‘If I say no, will he keep me from getting on the flight?’ The police get on the other side of TSA and wait until a person is boarding (ie wait until they have them where they want them, ie under natural duress) and stop the person and say Can we search you. The average person at the airport, knowing how things are these days at the airport (where freedom of speech and expression is accepted to be limited, there's words and jokes you can't say there). Police could instead have done this at the curb outside the airport, and people would be in a different position.

The procedure directs the counties officers to violate passengers' Fourth Amendment rights. Unreasonable searches and seizures.

It appears the police thought they could do this with impunity, Lehto said.

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Castle Law Now! (castlelawnow.com)
A travesty.

The process is the penalty.

INSANE Judge Arrested, Dragged Out Of Court & Disbarred. (youtube.com)
From a year ago but never saw it back then. She can't even do proper English. Her sentenses show she hadn't even mastered the use of words and sentenses. How surprising should it be that she doesn't understand the principles of justice?

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Danielle Smith: 'If you don't want to get… beat up, don't break into people's houses' (youtube.com)
The Canadian government version seems to be, ‘If you want to get money with almost no risk, break into people’s homes.'

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Congress Banned TikTok. So Why Is It Still on Your Phone? | Amanpour and Company (youtube.com)
Used to be they talked about the harms of TikTok every day. National security threat. Now they don't at all. Is it because they ‘banned it’ already? Yet, the ban had no real consequence.

Trump continues to ‘postpone’ the ‘ban’ until he can reach a deal to take it out of Chinese hands. Officially.

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SCOTUS Ruling Ignored by CA Court (youtube.com)
5th Amendment's Takings Clause. If you tax someone so much they can't use their property, you've 'taken' the property.

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Mother faces 'rarely used charge' for young son's felonies (youtube.com)
There is no way for the society there to do anything about it. The 11 year old has been involved in multiple felonies, robberies, burglaries, fire, but there's no way to charge anyone under 12.

The officer in the interview is saying that because the mother didn't take advantage of the services they offered her, she's basically guilty. Are we guilty for not doing things police offer us to do for people in our care? I for one don't trust any stranger and definitely no stranger with power and immunity like government workers, and I wouldn't take their offer either, or even consider it.

I wonder if they understand they're not solving the problem, which is that they can't charge an 11 year old.

They are arguing that the kid's mother's behavior is creating a situation which is allowing this to happen, and is harming or risking harm to the child.

I think you're going to be charging a lot of parents if you start doing that.

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Arrest warrant issued for Freedom Convoy trucker seeking asylum in U.S.: Lawyer speaks out (youtube.com)
James Bauder. He's not in Canada, having to seek political asylum in the US from Canadian government persecution.

The Democracy Fund is paying for his legal defense. TheLastTrucker.com to donate.

Bauder can't come to Canada for the trial because that would end his application (takes 6 to 18 months) for asylum in the US, so his defense asked the judge Philips to put off the trial until after the asylum application is processed and pick it up then, but Philips denied this and issued a warrant for Bauder.

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Google Hits Record After Chrome Antitrust Ruling (youtube.com)
Probably pretty fair so say the government isn't going to let anything happen to its own boy, at least while he offers so much.

July
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Court compels RCMP, TD Bank to hand over records on freezing Convoy supporter’s bank accounts (youtube.com)
‘Some out of control prosecutors.'

It's been about 5 years since the federal governments (of many countires) abused their citizens this way. In the video today they talk about how the MSM, which functioned at the time as a propaganda arm of the governments and lied and misled, currently is publishing stories in support of the other side of the controvery ie publishing criticism of the government and their own ‘information' disemination. 5 years and perhaps the government will be forced, because of this trial, to release documents about the decisions to freeze Canadians' account, because it will be called on as evidence. But perhaps they'll just drop their case to avoid having to publish this information.

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BREAKING: Montreal Police Storm Church where Sean Feucht is Scheduled to Perform (youtube.com)
Commenter: 'From the Communist Broadcasting Corporation: "Catherine Cadotte, a spokesperson for the Montreal mayor's office, told CBC News that the show "goes against the values of inclusion, solidarity and respect" and that the venue would be advised that the concert cannot take place."

Ladies and gentlemen, it doesn't get more Orwellian than that!'

Read the comments. Universally against this government action. How, in a democratic state, is it possible that the government regularly practices things that 100% or very close of the population are against?

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Search warrants tied to home in Netflix docuseries (youtube.com)
A documentary about a cult. Police raided it. There's nowhere you can go anymore without phones and cameras. 7m films.

June
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California Sues Trump Over National Guard Deployment (youtube.com)
Usually when a president mobilizes the national guard, it's when a governor asks him to. This time the police said they were getting it under control and the governor opposed Trump's action.

Newsom is (probably) going to say Trump is restricting state sovereignty as under Amendment 10.

President might say he was acting under the Insurrection Act. Does it qualify as an insurrection? Even if it doesn't, does the Act give the president authority to do this anyway.

If Trump said yeah we're doing Insurrection Act, it would allow the National Guard to act as domestic law enforcement, to do much more, not just be support for traditional law enforcement, but they could do search and seizure and arrest.

What is protest and what is insurrection? Some say protest is American. Insurrection could also be considered to be American.

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'What's The Deal With This Law?': Tammy Bruce Asked About Visa Revocation After Bob Vylan Case (youtube.com)
Visa records are confidential has been the policy for decades in the US. ‘Does this law not really apply unless you want it to?’

May
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Court Won’t Let Man Argue His Case Through An AI Avatar (youtube.com)

The court was willing to let him show a presentation he made himself, but he made an avatar and the judge stopped it to say What is this? He upset the judge by not telling them beforehand that it was going to be an avatar. He said it would be better because speaking publicly, he would mumble and stumble over his words, as usual.

What's the best way I can present my case to the bench?

But even if they let him, the judges often stop people during this process (15 minutes) where they stop the guy and say I have a question and then let him return to his speech.

On this page

Whopper ruling: Judge allows lawsuit over Burger King ads to move forward (youtube.com)

But a burger from a big chain actually tastes much better than it looks, it tastes more like the advertised picture.

April
On this page

Federal judge denies request to block ICE operations at houses of worship (youtube.com)
In Jan, DoHS removed ‘sensitive locations’ policy. ‘Shatter the consecrated space of sanctuary’. The judge said the plaintiff didn't show enough ‘credible threat’ of enforcement. And didn't show they were being ‘singled out’. Quakers locations are still safe, reportedly.
California Governor Newsom sues Trump admin over international tariffs (youtube.com)

FTC alleging Meta is an illegal monopoly again.

FTC alleging Google's ads in some markets are a monopoly. Federal court reportedly agreed.
Google ruled an ad tech monopolist by federal judge (youtube.com)

On this page

EP#163 | The Conservatives Want to Introduce a New Crime (youtube.com)
‘We have to make Canada safe for women and children.’ Nevermind that domestic violence is usually reciprocal, and when it's one-sided, it's slightly more likely to be the woman using violence against the man.

What is the motivation for this, actually? Is it that Canadians are just stupid about the issue? Or is it to create crimes which make payments (to institutions, people, jobs) necessary?

Of all the types of ‘crimes’, domestic abuse is probably the most likely to be abused (weaponized, ie false allegations because it's just a simple trick people can use againts each other).

In Ontario, if you're denied bail, you just sit in a cell with others for weeks or months. 70-80% of people in cells are just awaiting trails. A high percentage (over 50%) are found not guilty or the charges are withdrawn.

FBI arrested a Winsconsin judge on obstruction (of an immigration operation), Patel tweeted then deleted. Reuters.

On this page

100 Days & NO Evidence?! Luigi Mangione’s Attorney Exposes Prosecutors! (youtube.com)
'This whole case needs to be studied after this is over, on what not to do, on the violations of state officials, and how their mere utterance of words in the media can damage and ruin not only their credibility and their integrity, but also destroy the case.'

100 days and the state hasn't given Karen Agnifilo discovery.

So she can't challenge anything.
Charge Dropped Against Mom Who Let Her 10 Year Old Son Walk Alone (youtube.com)

Journalism

December
On this page

CNBC says keeping devices working is bad for the economy, uses horrible fed study to support this (youtube.com)
Hyperlinking as ‘we can just take that for granted’ in a news article, so journalist doesn't have to actually explain what the thing they're referring to contributes to their article.

‘But chatbots don’t summarize text. They shorten it, and they'll happily mangle the headline in the process, so Apple was pumping out completely wrong headlines.'

‘Headlines are hard. You have to reasonably summarize a news story in one line. Make it catchy, so readers actually read it, and you have to be accurate about it... Also, headlines are short already.’ ‘Some headlines need more than four words.’

The headlines Google generated recently trying the same thing Apple failed at, failed in serious ways (possibly defamatory).

...

On this page

How to Find a Date in a Country With Over 30 Million Extra Men | Op-Docs (youtube.com)

The NYT and WP and New Yorker subscriptions no longer meaningful, said Tucker, even for people who subscribed for decades, because they're totally irrelevant, ‘they’re speaking to no one.'

On this page

Why Everything Online Feels Fake (youtube.com)
Now when there's news, he has to jump onto Twitter to get immediate updates on it, but because it's a newsfeed he doesn't see the story. He sees tons of reactions by random people. Finally, he scrolls down far enough he sees the story, which is some small, unconfirmed news source's message. Everyone is retreating it. CNN eventually confirms it, quite a bit later. The ‘Wow’ reactions start going away. Takes start filling in from people, especially extreme stances, because it's Twitter, and it becomes a competition. Who's further to the right or left? Who wants attention more? Then it's reactions to reactions, selecting from a canned reactions menu. Posters must post what they're expected to by the audience of thousands which they've built over several years, to be inconsistent in their response would be negative, and that's why it seems so repetitive, people are reaching into their bag and playing out their brand, and knowing everyone else is doing the same thing. Everyone knows people can't come up with a real take within 5 minutes of every story, they expect a fast take, so why do people trust them? The thing people end up trusting online is anonymous accounts, screenshots on reddit, weird things that pop up in the replies, because those posts seem to be with nothing to gain, but they have just as much to gain from lying as anyone else, but you can't be distrustful or sceptical all the time, you have to trust something, to get a take of what everyone is thinking about something, to get an understanding.

The internet was always supposed to be not serious. A place for experimentation, weird stuff. Not for just publicly condemning political violence.

On this page

Pulled 60 Minutes segment briefly viewed on Global TV (youtube.com)
Deportations of Venezuelans to El Salvador, and the conditions of their detainment.

Bari Weiss of 60 Minutes pulled it, saying they hadn't shown the administration's side enough. It aired briefly on Global News (Canadian, in Canada).


November
On this page

Nigerian Christian death data shows newsroom bias. Here’s how it works. | Bias Breakdown (youtube.com)&pp=ugUEEgJlbg%3D%3D" target="_blank">Nigerian Christian death data shows newsroom bias. Here’s how it works. | Bias Breakdown (youtube.com)

On this page

How BBC trans coverage was ‘censored’ by its own reporters (youtube.com)
BBC's ‘independent advisor’ warned BBC was exhibiting serious and systemic problems regarding the trans issue.

Specialist LGBT desk. Keeping other perspectives off air. BBC shares reporters. So a story about LGBT has to use some reporters from the LGBTQ desk, but they refused to cover any stories that raised difficult questions about the trans debate, even when the stories were already covered widely by other news. Some stories were covered by all other big British news but not BBC. At BBC that same topic was one sided.

On this page

APT Opinion: When the BBC Edited Trump—and Accidentally Proved His Point | APT (youtube.com)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z5dhPYuPDBw
The entities that collect data may themselves have loyalties. Data is hard to verify, especially from (conflict) zones where there is basically no news presence.

On this page

Former Obama Speechwriter Sarah Hurwitz Melts Down Over Gaza Footage ‘Destroying’ Israel’s Narrative (youtube.com)
She seems to be saying that it's bad that her institutions can't teach the young because they're seeing videos that show the contrary of what they want to teach them.

"BBC Is NOT Institutionally Biased": Author of Explosive Memo Defends Report in Fiery Hearing | APT (youtube.com)

On this page

DISTURBING Leak of Witkoff Call Reveals Moral Rot of Security State (youtube.com)
Bloomberg misleading readers?

So many people want this war to continue, that they don't care what Trump or the American people want, said Greenwald.

Commenter. 'They're terrified that peace might break out!'

‘No one was held accountable the first time. There was nothing to stop them from doing it again. Prosecute and imprison or stfu. I’m beyond tired of no one being held accountable.’

'If the NSA really believed something nefarious was afoot, shouldn't they have notified the President, i.e., their democratically-elected commander-in-chief, instead of illegally leaking top-secret intelligence to Bloomberg?'

‘The Patriot Act MUST be rescinded in its ENTIRETY. And the Senior Executive Service MUST be ABOLISHED.’

'It's painfully obvious that our biggest problem is not Ukraine (let alone Russia). Our biggest problem are warmongers and traitors right here, in Washington DC'

‘Washington is rotten to its core. Nobody is ever held accountable.’

'America is lost
Rotten and corrupt to the core'

‘The leakers should be charged with treason.’

On this page

AP journalist describes visit to changing Tehran, Iran (youtube.com)
Mandatory hijab is not being worn by women on the streets, change related to 2022 events even though the protests about the killing have stopped.

Economy struggling. Uncertainty about Israel.

October
On this page

Inside the WILD World of Independent Journalism ft. Andrew Callaghan | Shane Smith Has Questions (youtube.com)
The US 2 party system, where if you are in favor of 2nd Amendment gun rights,

Is there any clarity on California (4th largest economy, recently bigger than Japan's) spending? or are they just taking

Callaghan is sort of following a story about what precedes people joining conspiracy or extremist movements. One guy he interviewed started yelling about the Epstein Client List and the Suez Canal is blocked by human traffickers connected to the Clinton foundation, and then he says ‘Just like Bill Joiner stole my home from me.’ ‘Wait a second, did he just fit his personal [situation] into the grander arc happening in the country.’ Bill Joiner had just given him a loan, which he couldn't pay and had to give the home up because it was collateral. ‘They fraudulently took my home and then they fraudulently took this country.’ ... He talked to other people, and a lot of their stories connected to the recession in 2008 and different financial hardships connected to rising cost of living.

'You would have to retain vulnerability for so long...'

September
On this page

Bari Weiss Selling Free Press For HUNDREDS of Millions and Joining CBS News?! With Glenn Greenwald (youtube.com)
Don't put all your eggs in one basket.

Shocking Stabbing of Young Ukrainian Woman in Charlotte...and Why National Media ISN'T Covering It (youtube.com)
The president did comment on it though, which caused some media to report on him commenting.

We haven't seen much footage like this in many years. Seems it was media censored, likely, it seems, because it naturally causes huge disgust and anger towards people who look like that black guy. It is a kind of primate image. The man was in his 30s, homeless, psychological problems, extensive criminal record, reportedly. The reason seems to just be psychological problems.

Reminder to never sit with your back to anyone in a hoody, ever, any race.

On this page

Mother of journalist James Foley recounts meeting the militant convicted in his killing (youtube.com)
Syria covering the conflict in 2014.

‘A fellow sinner, in need of mercy like me.’

August
On this page

Based prof HUMILIATES CBC reporter, leaves her in tears over unmarked graves LIES (youtube.com)
You almost never hear about personally actioned accountability. The grumpy old men who maintain society.

On this page

Former Washington Post writer: COVID lab leak fact-check is an ‘infinite regret’ (youtube.com)
Won't stop you from doing the exact same thing next time politicians demand it. Journalists without integrity.

On this page

Jet bridge searches ruled unconstitutional after Atlanta News First investigation (youtube.com)
In Plain Sight, a multi year investigation by ANF news, caused the National program (DEA) to be suspended then shut down. #Journalism

July
April
On this page

White House limits newswire access to Trump in media crackdown | Reuters (youtube.com)
Reuters and Bloomberg. Who gets to ask the president questions? AP was barred in February.

Usually the press pool is about 10 outlets. Trump wants it to be a larger group which rotates into the 10 slots. Press Sec Lovitt will be able to choose on a daily basis which outlets are in the White House.

Judge won’t enforce Oval Office access for the AP after new press pool rules (youtube.com)
Before, the judge ruled the White House couldn't discriminate against AP based on its views, but then White House changed their policy to have a larger pool of media that rotates, so now the judge finds the White House isn't doing anything wrong.

Also, the president has final say in who has access to the White House.

But judge said it would be telling as we go along, how many times AP is excluded from the press pool.

...

‘While I’m watching such fundamental failures of journalism, I'm also watching some of the best examples of journalism in the world.'

Diplomacy & IR

December
On this page

Belarus frees 123 prisoners, including Nobel Prize winner, as US lifts sanctions (youtube.com)

Sanctioned naphtha tanker from Russia enters Venezuelan waters, others dither, ship data shows - Reuters

November
On this page

Palestinian flag raised outside Toronto City Hall for the first time (youtube.com)
By the Canadian government, to join the flags of all other countries.

On this page

Has Trump Ruined America's Reputation Around The World? w/ Ian Bremmer (youtube.com)
The most obvious argument is that US had a stable, trusted position based on relationships with many countries. Anyone with such a relationship can quickly shift and demand more money (tariffs etc), and partners can't quickly adapt because they've chosen supply chains and business deals based on that stable relationship with the US. They have to accept the tariffs, but this definitely changes their attitude towards the US, which can no longer be considered stable or trustworthy in the same way, and have to start looking for other trading partners. Any US leader (or any country's leader but with less power) can do this for quick gains, cashing in on everything American leaders have before done, and at the cost of Americans later. The reason the US has access to this option, to suddenly cash in big on tariffs, is because of the trust relationship they established before, not because of anything the current admin is doing, obviously. If the US had done what it is doing now in previous years, their trading partners would have already diversified away from America and it would be poorer in options.

The same way, the US government has a trust relationship with US citizens. Money printing, stimulus, tariffs, which are inflation for the citizens, are accepted because they give immediate increased purchasing power eveyone will pay for later.

October
September
On this page

Venezuela’s Maduro Accuses U.S. of ‘Full Aggression,’ Says Communications Cut | APT (youtube.com)
But he really doesn't have any chips. This is where it's nice to have some relations, with the country, and with third party countries, something you can take away. Maduro not only doesn't have that, he doesn't even have the one last thing countries have even if they go against hegemons, that their people don't want interference from outside. But from the Venezuelans I've talked to I don't think they'd oppose it.

On this page

How the Arab World's tone towards Israel is shifting | DW News (youtube.com)
The more you enforce a special status for yourself, the less you have to play by common rules, uncomfortable and costly but which are the middle ground with others.

On this page

Former Chief Economist (BIS) Explains Monetary Endgame (youtube.com)
Has the US withdrawn not just from leadership but from cooperation? The BRICS alternative.

The Russians and Chinese have been cooperating well lately, it has seemed. Historically, they mistrust each other. There might be a lot of bad will from past things still there.

August
On this page

US withheld Russia-Ukraine peace talks intel from Five Eyes allies (youtube.com)
What happens when a leader is elected in any of these 5 abusivelyCooperative countries who isn't into the controlBeforeSociety/Rights motive? When a leader in ay of them likes civil rights, speech rights, privacy and freedom?

July

Human & Civil Rights

December
On this page
Canadian woman is detained attempting to enter Costa Rica with damaged passport (youtube.com)

Literally just the corner. Like a centimeter or something. Service Canada wouldn't even replace it because it wasn't damaged enough. She flew through other countries.

The detained her in a cell for 24 hours. The processed her like a criminal, took all of her information and her saliva.

On this page

How did they know what he bought? (youtube.com)
‘The liklihood that this didn’t even happen.'

On this page

We Had 400 People Shop For Groceries. What We Found Will Shock You. (youtube.com)
‘They're watching you shop.'

Will this most easily be dealt with using a law against invasion of public privacy?

On this page

Berlin Approves New Expansion of Police Surveillance Powers (reclaimthenet.org)
‘Berlin just voted to let police hack phones, enter homes, and feed private data into AI systems. The city’s new “security” law merges digital surveillance with physical intrusion: state trojans on devices, covert break-ins to install them, and face and voice recognition using social media.’ old.reddit.com

Commenter. ‘Easy, Berlin Senate doing Berlin Senate things. Next Bundesverfassungsgericht (federal constitution court) will Stop it and declare it illegal. The law suits are already on the way. ’

On this page

New Law Requires Web Browsers to Stop Data Sharing with One Click | SoCal Matters | PBS SoCal (youtube.com)
Cali. Browser makers will have to ‘offer users an opt out signal’ that tells websites not to sell or share their info as they browse. Takes effect 2027.

Sponsored by the Cali Privacy Protection Agency, as well as other privacy groups, including EFF and Brave, and Mozilla.

Instead of users having to set this privacy protection on every site they visit, they will have a single toggle to keep their data protected.

Some browsers already do this under ‘Global Privacy Control.’

This is a message sent to the website. So the website has to do as they are asked to do by the user/browser for it to be effective.

Google organized opposition to the proposal, reportedly, but failed.

On this page

ID Required For Google Search! (youtube.com)

Texas sues biggest TV makers, alleging smart TVs spy on users without consent. Ars Technica

On this page

YouTube (youtube.com)

Creating apps like Signal or WhatsApp could be 'hostile activity,' claims UK watchdog
old.reddit.com

On this page

Camera error prompts Eugene police to end Flock Safety contract (youtube.com)
They couldn't explain why just one camera out of 50 was ‘accidentally turned on’. Maybe an error message that rebooted the camera.

Commenter. ‘There are lawsuits in the works for EVERY CITY that has installed the flock cameras. These cameras are an invasion of privacy and, were deemed illegal by the supreme court last month.’

On this page

UK Proposes 24/7 Phone Surveillance & VPN Age Verification (youtube.com)

S. Korea to mandate facial recognition for opening new mobile numbersnews (en.yna.co.kr)
old.reddit.com

November
On this page

Trump's ICE Secret Police Get Owned By Citizen Watchdogs (youtube.com)

People in China use cash only for gambling, which is illegal.

If you visit Alibaba and search something on Brave Browser on a Linux Computer, it will show you ads for that product on a GrapheneOS Pixel when you open Facebook.

On this page

Dystopian Town Sends Lying Cop To Innocent Woman's Home (youtube.com)
‘You’ve driven through our town 20 times in the last month.'

On this page

Flock Safety and Texas Sheriff Claimed License Plate Search Was for a Missing Person. It Was an Abortion Investigation. (eff.org)
This could be the blueprint, also, for a political style of combatting rights violating tech.

On this page

Public Officials Fear This: How YOU Can Use Surveillance Data Against Them (youtube.com)&pp=ugUHEgVlbi1VUw%3D%3D" target="_blank">Public Officials Fear This: How YOU Can Use Surveillance Data Against Them (youtube.com)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZMWRFjB-3UE
‘I changed the focus of my channel to start making videos about protecting your privacy and surveillance from government and corporate surveillance, and something incredible happened. Over the past 5 months my channel has exploded.’ Graph shows stead little increase and then sharp increase.

He describes 3 levels of legal and effective fighting surveillance, level 1 for anyone with a smart phone and allows anonymity, the second only for the brave, and the third only for the bold. ‘If you are worried about your name getting put on a list, you might want to skip the third method.’

DeFlock.me is an organization that is mapping all the 80k Flock cameras in the US, installed by law enforcement mostly, using citizens money, to spy on them. ‘We need to watch the watchers.’ They want to create a transparent searchable database of their surveillance.

The ‘brave’ level is for people to go to their government office and use FOIA to get a copy of the contract or agreement the city or law enforcement has with Flock or whatever surveillance company. FOIA is federal, but almost all states have passed their own state one that lets citizens of the states do the same with non federal government. And the policy and procedure manuals government and law enforcement (sheriff's office or state police) have for use of automated licence plate readers. The vlogger created a template anyone can use to make their FOIA request.

Flock Safety now worth $7b.

Commenter. 'A Flock executive, (I think it was the CEO), was interviewed. He claimed on camera that DeFlock was a terrorist organization, for watching his company. Hypocrisy in the biggest sense.'

In some locations already there are class actions against the state for their use of Flock, which constitutes an unreasonable warrentless search of every driver there, they allege. The result will be appealed and eventually will be at the Supreme Court.

Flock cameras can become a liability. (Legal burden.)

Brave level is to use FOIA to request data on your public officials vehicles (mayor, state legistlators, police chief, councilmembers), especially those that support surveillance.

Americans are supposed to know almost everything about their government, that is why they are called public service, and they are supposed to know next to nothing about people, that is why they are called private citizens.

Commenter. ‘The reason WE are entitled to film POLICE is that there is no expectation of privacy in public places. Your whereabouts being tracked is a whole other story. So the issue isn’t about “consent” to be filmed, it’s about we not demanding that our electeds prevent the tracking of us. Police, at least (in theory) require a warrant, corporations, not. We need to demand prohibition of corporate tracking.’

'You can't comply your way out of tyranny or surveillance state.'

‘In London, UK, we are having a huge problem with the mass surveillance going on here. There are a few social hero’s called the Bladerunners, who happen to be in the right place at the right time, to document “spontaneous fall-overs” of the camera posts… Maybe such a group may wish to document similar spontaneous events around the US.’

On this page

derechadiario.com.ar
(for age verification)

On this page

You MUST Know This About Filming ICE (youtube.com)
Lying without consequence now, but maybe later there will be accountability?

On this page

Secretive Border Patrol program is detaining US citizens for ‘suspicious’ travel (youtube.com)
Flags citizens or anyone for driving the system deems suspicious travel within the US. The agent stops him for some ticket, then asks him to exit the vehicle and seats him in the agent's vehicle. This is for a ticket, not a crime, so exiting the vehicle is weird. He asks to search and the citizen says no and the agent says they'll use a K9 then. The K9 finds something, ‘a positive alert’ so they detain him while they search this.

Many in the comments noted that the dog didn't look like it gave any positive alert, maybe it just looked like it wanted to get in the car.

The man was pulled over for ‘drifting over the line.’

‘License plate readers are incredibly powerful surveillance. They are collecting mass information about who people are, where they go, what they do, and who they know, and that information is now being weaponized by the federal government to identify, track and arrest community members.’

US Gestapo?

Texas.

The man filed a suit against the agents, alleging an illegal stop and that the dog was prompted to alert regardless.

US Customs and Border Protection is set to get billions of dollars for new surveillance tech under the current federal admin.

...

On this page

old.reddit.com
This has some people who commented about how they've FOIAed for data and how the state etc are trying to stop them from getting it.

On this page

Alberta’s proposed free speech law — named after Jordan Peterson — faces pushback (youtube.com)
‘We spoke to many professionals who were afraid to put their names in the public realm, not only due to the theat of public cancellation, but mainly due to fear of losing their professional status or their livlihood.’ While trying to write a law and trying to find professionals to weigh in on it.

On this page

old.reddit.com
'EU, MEP Gaetano Pedullà (Italian Five Star Movement opposition political party): "Shame, shame, shame. The Meloni government abstained on Chat Control à la Pontius Pilate, a vote that led to the approval.'

On this page

DISTURBING Leak of Witkoff Call Reveals Moral Rot of Security State (youtube.com)
Snowden's reporting said exactly this.

Not spying where they said they wanted to use it, ie on foreign adversaries. They're using it on domestic targets, citizens, politicians, officials, Americans.

‘The NSA wasn’t trying to expose illegality. That's not what this was. It was trying to undermine policies with which it disagrees by using its spying powers, abusing its spying powers, to try to destroy the Trump administration's relationship with the Russians.'

It's considered the worst crime, because it not only violates the spying target's privacy to leak their conversation, but it also exposes who the NSA is spying on, alerting them so they change devices and the NSA would lose the ability to spy on them. So it's the worst crime, that even journalists can be punished for, but that's what the NSA did here themselves, said Greenwald. Spying on an American citizen and then leaking the call... to try to make it seem like Witcoff had done something treasonous. But this highest level of the Deep State is not accountable to our laws so they won't be punished like Manning, Assange, Snowden, suggested Greenwald.

On this page

What the HELL is this! (youtube.com)
Little cameras mounted on supermarket price tags that face out at customers.

On this page

And so it begins. Voice Recording & Innocents Arrested (youtube.com)
Innocent people having to hire lawyers to prove themselves innocent when police treat them rudely or hold them at gunpoint, facedown on a parking lot, detain them or serve them to court, based on ‘100%’ ‘zero doubt’ information they get from their new system of Flock and Ring surveillance video.

October
On this page

Morocco Gen Z protests turn deadly after police clashes (youtube.com)

Apple removed apps from its appstore that allowed users to report where they see ICE agents. AP

On this page

Canada could become a police state by Christmas if Parliament passes bills C-2, C-8, & C-9 (youtube.com)
The legislators want Canada Post to open personal mail without a warrant. Criminalize cash over $10k. Allow all kinds of officials, including border security, to do warrantlesss searches of devices. Another one makes ‘hate' a more serious crime. ‘Offensive, non criminal speech’ to be criminalized. Internet content control. Preemptive punishment. Power to kick Canadian individuals off the internet.

Justice minister won't guarantee that no Canadian will be charged because of a Twitter/Facebook post (youtube.com)

On this page

Why is Canada DISARMING Alberta & Saskatchewan BEFORE 2026? (youtube.com)

EU rolling out digital border systems (ie you scan and stuff when you cross EU borders). 'For immigrants' and ‘identity fraud’.

On this page

How Denver's Mayor forced flock AI surveillance on residents after a 12-0 vote to get rid of them (youtube.com)
What do you do when your representative government doesn't represent you? and when they do things completely in controvention of the will of the population?

On this page

ICE uses full-body restraints on deportees despite safety concerns (youtube.com)
If Democrats win the next election, will they just cancel ICE on the first day? or will they just use it for their own ends?

On this page

No Kings San Diego (North County) Parade for FREEDOM & DEMOCRACY (youtube.com)
My nephew said it was the most populous protest in US history.

September
On this page

York Police: 'Best defence' for home invasions 'is to comply' (youtube.com)
Commenter: ‘Imagine being this weak as a police chief standing up and saying this bullshit to people’ ... ‘From Alberta … absolutely 100% .. I bet all his police officers are like this is absolutely BS and cringey … how can he call himself a Leader .. frigging ’ ... 'Cowardly policing ! If you won't serve and protect go into another line of work. This is what Woke looks like in public protection services! Useless !'

On this page

Store scans your license: What do they learn? (youtube.com)
A receipt isn't enough, they demanded a drivers license just to do returns now. They scan the drivers license. They don't just check it to see if it's you. It does show them your home address and birthday, and obviously your full legal name and drivers license number.

If this is to stop serial returners, why not just visually check the ID?

The woman they interviewed rejected Toys R Us's demand for her ID, and just kept the toys she wanted to retern, so she wouldn't have to give up her personal info to strangers and their computer system.

The bigger the store chain, the more power to demand. No Walmart and Superstore, lots of options.

On this page

LEGAL ANALYST: Google facing $425.7 million in damages for improper smartphone snooping (youtube.com)
The best way to move funds from the corporate part of this partnership to the legal.

On this page

Hamilton resident ordered to remove personal security cameras despite footage helping police (youtube.com)
Homeowners can't view or listen beyond their property, legally.

However, they said he might be exempted from the law, if he can get letters from his landlord, neighbors, etc, saying they're okay with it.

1300 film industry people are boycotting Israeli films, reportedly.

On this page

Journalist FIRES QUESTIONS in Mexico, Marco Rubio FIRES BACK WITH HUMOR (youtube.com)
Well, he tried to make excuses, but gave no answers as to the lack of law and procedure. Seems it was just a slaying. However, it might be that it never happened, and it's just a made up story (therefore they can't be accountable), used for political and fear purposes.

On this page

US Coast Guard Sinks Drug Boat (youtube.com)
Don't think this is the same incident, is it? They let off a bunch of projectiles on a boat at night. Seems it might be a deterrence campaign, to for the first time in decades scare drug boats away from trying to transit to the US.

On this page

Nepal's prime minister resigns after deadly protests over government corruption (youtube.com)
Reportedly outraged over not allowing the citizens to use SM, they've been doing serious protests.

On this page

youtube.com
If it's Australia, it must be all about human rights. Lol

On this page

Ecuador protests: Demonstrators demand president Daniel Noboa resigns (youtube.com)
Indiginous groups and workers unions. They don't like austerity that has cut public sector jobs. The government also wants to pass law so congress can impeach supreme court judges.

On this page

LIVE: Outside Jimmy Kimmel’s studio after ABC suspends show over Charlie Kirk remarks (youtube.com)

Were Jimmy Kimmel's free speech rights violated when ABC cancelled his show? a Reuters headline.

On this page

Trump’s war on media: Jimmy Kimmel suspended over Kirk remarks (youtube.com)
This has some of the clips of what Kimmel actually said.

It does seem like intimidation of US media. Public companies basically all suing for peace with Trump in their own ways. Very few people standing up an saying ‘I won’t be intimidated.' John Sopel.

One who is not intimidated so far is Murdoch and the WSJ. NYT is privately owned by a wealthy billionaire. The Atlantic is owned by the ex of Steve Jobs.

Does it all stem from rightwing think tanks? Project2025?

On this page

Jon Stewart's Post-Kimmel Primer on Free Speech in the Glorious Trump Era | The Daily Show (youtube.com)
Pretty good.

Aberbaijan and Albania. Why not throw one of Napel's Nobel Peace Prize that way?

FCC as a tool of the White House.

On this page

We Are All Jimmy Kimmel | The Easy Way Or The Hard Way | Trump Urges NBC To Cancel Fallon And Meyers (youtube.com)
Colbert's one.

‘We are all Jimmy Kimmel.' Seems like a lot of citizens are behind this. Will the country be divided more because of this? I doubt it. Seems more likely Americans on Trumps side generally will not agree with the cancellation or silencing of speech either. The circle of support could get smaller. And fairly certainly the gain that the Trump/Republican party got under Biden, in that all podcasters sided with and gave a voice to the oppressed conservatives, will shift and be for the liberals.

‘That is blatant censorship. And it always starts small,’ said Colbert. He was talking like a cheap blogger, though. Colbert, you're supposed to be a comedian and entertainer. Not a lecturer.

A lot of countries and corporations have already complied with Trump's demands. The term used in the culture right now for this is ‘bended the knee’ or ‘sued for peace.’ Trump played this smart, moving really quickly, and really mixing things up so no one could even get a footing before they had to make decisions. The best strategy for the countries and corporations, though, would have been to stall or delay, to express friendly interest in making a deal favorable to Trump, but really just giving some time, because in new autocratic governments eventually the harms are inflicted, everyone opposes, but everyone finds it very hard to reverse course or unify. If the parties can just delay a year or two, what a situation really is will be visible and they can make an appropriate response while at the same time having support from the citizens everywhere.

‘If ABC thinks this is going to satisfy the regime they are woefully naive.’

Kimmel's comments about Kirk were described by the FCC chair Brendan Carr, who went on a podcast, as ‘the sickest conduct possible.’ Doesn't seem to have much concept of proportionality for a department leader. ‘I thnk it’s really been past time that a lot of these licenced broadcasters themselves push back on Comcast and Disney and say "Listen, we are going to preempt, we are not going to run Kimmel anymore until you straighten this out. I mean, look, we can do this the easy way or the hard way.'

‘Sounds like he’s telling them to punish Kimmel or else.' ... ‘They seem like marching orders.’

Following Carr's appearance, Nexstar said they would preempt the Kimmel series for the immediate future. Coincidentally, Nexstar has a major merger coming up before the Trump admin. That's how deals get done, baby. Give something and get something. Disney also needs Trump admin's greenlight to buy the NFL netowork (ESPN deal).

Colbert also showed some tweets Carr had made under Trump. ‘From internet memes to late night comedians... Political Satire... helps hold those in power accountable. Shuttind down this type of political speech, especially at the urging of those targeted or threatened by its message, would represent a serious threat to our freedoms.’

Car tweeted ‘While this may be an unprecendented decision, it is important for broadcasters to push back on Disney programming that they determine falls short of community values.’

Trump on Sept 18 said ‘When you have a network and you have evening shows, and all they do is hit trump. That’s all they do. If you go back, I guess they haven't had a conservative on in years or something, somebody said. But when you go back and take a look, all they do is hit Trump. They're licensed. They're not allowed to do that.' It's a valid point, that liberals unevenly influence the culture because all the media is liberal, and has been for decades. Everyone lamented that by the time Trump was elected. It a big part of the reason podcasts went big and took over from network news and other programs. And this development has to be seen in the light of a reaction to serious, inescapable largescale injustice by liberals against conservatives for many years.

Trump obviously doesn't have a point about ‘they’re not allowed to do that.' It's just unfair that they do that.

Trump posted, ‘Jimmy Kimmel Show is CANCELLED. That leaves Jimmy [Fallon] and Seth, two total losers, on Fake News NBC. Their ratings are also horrible. Do it NBC!!! President DJT'

At least liberals now have something to talk about. That hasn't happened in a long time. And they'll maybe start behaving better, because no one behaves as well as someone who has to get votes from the masses.

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Jimmy Reacts to Kimmel's Suspension After FCC Pressure; Trump Wraps Up U.K. Visit | The Tonight Show (youtube.com)
Jimmy Fallon's.

Kinda funny little skit, but very brief, and he moved on to harmless unfunny jokes again. Most would probably expect that though, it is the Tonight Show after all.

The end of all dictators (although Trump isn't at this point a dictator at all, he may be moving into the realm of 'autocrat' or weilding or trying to weild that set of powers) is when people stand up to them. What feeds their growth is that each person, separate from other people, sees it as in his interest to make a deal with the dictator, even though it would be better for many of those individuals if they unified and didn't make a deal with the dictator. The more people who make such a deal, the harder it is to oppose. The more people who make such a deal, the smaller is the core of opposition, and the harder is their struggle, since they struggle against a unified dictatorial system and also against people who have already compromised themselves and now are motivated to justify that compromise and to oppose those who haven't compromised. They will twist their self concept in doing so. ... However, when people oppose, the dictator has to act to punish them, firing them or whatever and they are then oppressed, and they band together with other oppressed. The masses also see the punishment act of the dictator and that it is unfair, contrary to their system and their values, and cruel, and the dictator loses support and opposition mounts. ... A successful dictator manages to move past these hindrances quick enough that he conquers enough sociocultural territory he can't be challenged.

When the dictator has to punish opposition unjustly, this also involves forcing the individuals doing the actual firing or cancelling to not just be a silent non opposition to the dictator but actually do his bidding which they know is doing wrong. This creates tension and it forces people to turn against him, because they are no longer just chosing comfort by supporting him, but have to endure discomfort either way.

This is one of the reasons it's so great to teach Civics at school. The people are comfortable and prepared to deal with the political developments of their era. They already know many of the issues and aren't caught off guard and need time to prepare to deal with an infringment in politics, because the infringer might be fast.

There might also be an element of having wanted to fire talk show hosts and others for a long time, and simply not feeling they could fire them. We saw this in tech a couple years ago, when there were massive rounds of firings and layoffs, a break from years of allowing expensive hires to just come into work and do whatever they wanted, DEI, HR, etc.

‘The challenge,’ Friedburg said on the All In lame pod this week, ‘was did he say something that he knew to be not true and declare it as fact?’ FCC chair said he was doing news distortion.

The game now at the All In is, at what point will each of these four come out with an actual ‘against' statement regarding the White House.

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Jason Bateman reacts to Kimmel suspension: 'We can't be silently passive' (youtube.com)
The Batemans.

But he doesn't pull off the role, I don't think. His voice is so clean and clear, his conversation is so direct and self sure and specific, even demanding. Screw ups don't make demands, except maybe of their woman. He's the producer, and that's probably the only way he woulda got cast in that role.

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WATCH | Dutch Police Under Siege: 1,500 Protesters Clash With Riot Units in The Hague | APT (youtube.com)
Are the Europeans coming back?

Commenters overwhelmingly very supportive.

Commenter. ‘Using undercover agents to derail the protests is the tactic of the left-wing police and government.'

Probably though it will become the right wing tactic as soon as you get a right wing government, though, too.

All this time it looked like the Western citizens were ok with things, just ignorantly docile, turns out a lot of them just weren't speaking up.

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Vietnam Freezes 86 Million Bank Accounts Overnight, US is Next Under Genius Act: Jim Rickards (youtube.com)
But if you want to fool the citizens into giving up their rights, just give the act a good name.

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The FBI Arrested A Major Tor Node Operator (youtube.com)
His wife said that in 2019 the Feds came to the guy to ask him to help them decrypt Tor traffic. Because he rejected them, they decided to charge him with the computer fraud charge from 2014 (just a few months before the statute of limitations). Part of his original pretrial release (not charged with anything yet, it seems) included allowing device monitoring by the state (internet is a basic human right though). He downloaded Tor and some other security stuff and also seached ‘nambla' (he said for a paper he was working on, which is probable because the website is old and defunt now, says MO). They then held him in jail for 3 years. He was eventually assigned a PO who was hostile, and conducted illegal searches of their house and property, harassed their business clients, etc, the wife alleged. Part of his later arrest has to do with testing positive for marijuana and for having a non monitored phone. In a later arrest they stormed his house like a military platoon with machine guns, and even refused to show the warrant they must have had. Rockenhaus.com

If this isn't state oppression what is?

Commenter. ‘I like how the 4th amendment is just ignored for in the context of digital devices, got to love it.’

'She's a keeper. Remote wiping your devices when the Feds kick in the door should be in the wedding vows.'

‘The real crime here is the government trying to decrypt TOR traffic.’

'All this and the fed can't do a damn thing about f-ing robo calls. What a waste of tax dollars.'

‘The feds have no interest in any crime commited. They just want to swallow all the data to blackmail politicians 50 years from now.’

‘One is always guilty in the eyes of the government’

'Commiting a digital crime is literally worse than violent crime in some cases. It's crazy.'

'There's no such thing as an innocent man, given how asininely convoluted our legal code is. Therefore we are all selectively guilty of the real crime of failing to cooperate with the government's illegal activity.'

'There is no reason to think he even did those searches .
Remember that the FBI crime lab has been caught faking evidence, so many times that it implicates the evidence they presented on tens of thousands of cases.'

'I'm not defending or excusing any sort of criminality. That said, I was married to a cop and lived with a family of cops for thirty years, and my takeaway is that I can't stand cops and think they're worse than the vast majority of civilian criminals. You cannot hire dumb people, invest the authority of the state in them, send them to deal within the worst parts of society, and expect good outcomes. Broad power for police is a terrible system. Civilians think the police are there to protect and serve, but the main purposes of the police are to secure more special rights and privileges for the police, and to secure more funding for the police. Those are their two main purposes today. Everything else is secondary. We The People need a new plan.'

...

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ICE can hack your phone without you knowing (youtube.com)
Israeli spyware called Graphite by the company called Paragon.

Commenter. ‘I never want to hear “if you don’t have anything to hide…” ever again. I will rage at anyone who dares’

‘The Patriot Act laid the foundation for this’

‘This is exactly why we need to create and ratify a Digital Bill Of Rights, so that such deep infringements of our privacy cannot go unchecked and without extreme accountabilty, with severe punishments for any overreach or indiscriminate sharing of private information.’

‘Done with this. I am done with this. I am done being treated like a criminal, treated like a criminal by criminals while I pay for it all.’

'Casual reminder that a specific individual named Tom who was in Las Vegas last month before suddenly fleeing the country after falling for an FBI sting was a cybersecurity expert attending meetings with the NSA just a couple weeks prior to the deal going through.

'You know, just in case you thought the State wasn't at all involved in Paragon'

‘Time for a Class Action Lawsuit against Trump Admin, ICE, Paragon, and Peter Thiel’

This spyware was recently found to be used by the Italian government on journalists, reportedly.

Lawyers have confidentially, and require and depend on encrypted apps to communicate with their clients, but this spyware bypasses that structure, destroying trust.

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Florida creates portal to report anyone with extreme views (youtube.com)
Upon which they'll digitally and secretly surveil and review all data on the person?

On this page

Europe Visa Free is Now DEAD - New Surveillance System (youtube.com)

Your Phone’s Camera is Always on and Spying on you. Turn this OFF! (youtube.com)
Put a sticker over the cameras is a much better idea. If you turn it off, the phone will update itself and turn it back on. (Unless you use de Googled Android like GrapheneOS or Lineage, then your phone is more secure).

On this page

How to Stop Cops From Using Your Utility Meter to Spy on You (youtube.com)
Smart meters log your daily routine minute by minute detail. Law enforcement can pull this data across the country (US). It paints a pretty detailed picture of what's going on in your home, because every device has a power consumption profile. Your devices use different voltages etc. Not only cops, but also the government is interested in this info.

You should have a battery between the grid and your devices, because then the grid just charges the battery.

August
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Trump AI Speech & Action Plan, DC Summit Recap, Hot GDP Print, Trade Deals, Altman Warns No Privacy (youtube.com)
AI user privacy raised by Sam Altman (no legal confidenciality with chatGPT). ‘People talk about the most personal stuff with chatGPT.’ He wants privacy, just like with a therapist, in case someone subpoenas openAI to ask for what people said. Or is it like search history, where the government can ask for it.

Chat history is much more personal and interactive than search history, so it's easier for the Fedgov to be more intrusive.

Let AImodels get bar certified and medical certified, suggested Friedburg.

(I didn't watch the rest of the pod, because it's become more or less a propaganda (except Jcal) and they don't say insightful things often anymore.)

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Media BLACKOUT: Anti-establishment parties TOP polls in UK, France, Germany, Italy despite crackdown (youtube.com)

Google settled their lawsuit for violating the privacy of children (data collection) for $30m. Lol, absolutely no reason for Google to not violate rights.

On this page

Christian group debanked for alleged 'precautionary' purpose (youtube.com)
No law against debanking in Canada, and the Federal government just gave a list of names to the bank of protesters and their families (Trucker protests and other instances more recently), and had the banks froze their accounts.

US is now banning that practice, and maybe that will help Canadians as well since Canadian banks do business with US banks.

All that's nice, but not using banks that can freeze accounts is really the solution. The road to crypto continues.

As you look around the globe, still the US seems to be the only or main hope for civil rights.

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U.S. considers sanctions against draconian U.K. speech regulators (youtube.com)
US is the only country that, like a person, protests and fights for civil rights.

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Age Verification - The End of Free And Open Internet (youtube.com)
Or create a need for an alternative web.

Someone just has to build it. We're all just waiting.

It can't be a private project, because 99.9% of the time it will just be bought for whatever price they hold out for, or coercion used. It must be communal and nonprofit (ie foss), because that's near impossible to corrupt or own.

On this page

Jet bridge searches ruled unconstitutional after Atlanta News First investigation (youtube.com)
Same Atlanta thing. Eric Andre.

'Drug agents were stopping innocent passengers at the boarding door for so called "consentual searches". For years. 11th Circuit court said they were not consentual, were coerced, and violated the 4th Amendment.

The agencies collected million$ from people without making arrests.

The officers are found to be entitled to qualified immunity. The department is still liable for further suits.

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Lawsuit vs. Home Depot For Biometric Checkout Scans (youtube.com)
America still has it. How many countries are opposing this kind of thing through law based on their Constitution?

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U.S. poised to sanction UK speech censors — could Canada be next? (youtube.com)
If they do this one, this actually is cultural work. It is the stuff we read the Greeks because of.
Breaking The Creepy AI in Police Cameras (youtube.com)
40k AI cameras tracking us.

July
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Convoy lawyer Eva Chipiuk speaks out after being DEBANKED by RBC (youtube.com)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SMJx3u6obzg
Offgrid finance has to come, assholes.

She went to a Bitcoin conference and afterward bought bitcoin twice in two days and on the second purchase her bank froze her account without notifying her.

Podcaster Knowles fighting with Stripe over a political debanking.

June
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County Sued For ‘Runaway’ Drone Spying On Private Property (youtube.com)
Same thing that happened in Michigan and went through the courts.

The three citizens sued (using the ACLU) the city to block code enforcement which used drones to take arial footage, including in their back yards.

‘They’re not getting warrants, but they're saying We're not law enforcement, we're code enforcement.' They used to have to have a complaint first, but now they've changed it so they can do ‘discretionary proactive investigations.’

The city started out looking for illegal weed plants etc, and found some, years ago, but since then have been expanding to search for other code violations, without warrant. Nearly half of Sonoma County's drone searches are for things not weed plants now. Including construction without a permit, junkyard conditions, and other zoning violations.

The city ‘hid’ these searches from the people they spied on, the community, and the media.

Using drones to search people's private locations and possessions raises questions about what is ‘private’, commented a professor.

No drones will probably be the only solution, everywhere. Said that years ago.

May
April
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Washington Farmworker Organizer Detained in Trump Immigration Crackdown (youtube.com)

ICE deleted a Xwitter post that says ‘If it crosses the US border illegally, it’s our job to STOP IT' overlayed on ‘People money products ideas.’ Ideas?

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Michigan Lawyer Detained at Detroit Airport, Phone Seized; He Represents Pro-Palestine Protester (youtube.com)
They handed him a brochure explaining why they had authority to demand he hand over his device [to me this seems counter evidence, ie showing that they actually doubt their authority to take a device ie they can only ‘demand’ it, legally. Which seems obvious, since US has Constitutional protection against unlawful search and seizure, which this instutionally violates. They told him he could write down what sensitive information he had on his device and they wouldn't scan that. Lol. They confiscated his device and then they told him if he wrote down a list of his contacts they'd give it back. He did this. I would like to see just one person interviewed who doesn't comply. They all comply. Then they brought him a form and asked him to write down details about all of these contacts. Now he said he thought it was too far and he refused. ‘An intimidation attempt.’ ‘They’re attacking attorneys... law firms.' It seems, particularly just on the Gaza situation. Not on any actual terrorism, if that term means anything anymore.

‘Is the border some kind of no-man’s land?'

There is a ‘law’ that modifies the capabilities of border security to do things, including search and seizer, with no warrant, and even without any probable cause. But it's supposed to be done in the interest of national security. But everything is classifyable as in the interest of national security. It's being used for political reasons, against dissenters, fairly clearly, it seems. ‘Someone who protests the war on Gaza is a threat to national security.’ So it could be anything.

‘You’d have to almost travel with a burner phone. This is the only way you can adequately protect yourself from having your phone confiscated, because they have the right to do it.'

‘The actual confiscation of a phone has to only be done in the most extreme cases, where there’s a high level of national security concern.' CBP policy.

Read the comments. Lots, and 100% against this. So obviously not representative.

I think I've written about this before, but the chief issue here is the uncertainty. All these lawyers come on and just say ‘no one knows’ about what rights they have, what rights the people have.

If it was stated clearly, what powers the border workers have, and what rights citizens and other have, then it could be discussed. It can't really even be discussed since no one knows what the rules are.

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JD Vance wants review of UK speech laws included in trade dea (youtube.com)
A requirement for doing a trade deal, UK will have to roll back it's ‘hate speech’ laws.

In 2023 UK arrested 1200 people for messages they had posted that the government deemed offensive, reportedly.

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Cannes Selects Film on Gaza Photographer Fatma Hassona; A Day Later, She's Killed in Israeli Strike (youtube.com)
Air strike killed 9 of her family.

Iranian film maker.

A commenter said ‘The immunity to war crimes must come to an end.’

On this page

ICE, DOGE seek Medicare data in immigration crackdown (youtube.com)
Any right to privacy in your medical data? I mean, it's not like it's an emergency.

Information

December
On this page

Privy Council caught deleting Freedom Convoy docs tied to illegal Emergencies Act invocation (youtube.com)
Do governments need a private organization (or several) to copy and publish separately every piece of information the government publishes, just to ensure they won't modify it later?

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The Strange Shift in UK Adult Traffic after the Online Safety Act (youtube.com)
There is an assumption Brits just don't care about their privacy ‘and that’s just not correct'. The data might show that while normal people say ‘I don’t care about my privacy, let them look, I have nothing to hide,' their actual behavior shows they actually do want to protect their privacy.

So, publicly, people might not be willing to oppose privacy invading policy or tools, privately they will try to avoid them.

Sites that ignored the government's new age verification laws (14 sites out of the top 90) had huge increases in UK traffic. Smaller, less moderated, more risky perhaps. Sites hosted outside of the UK won't be daunted. VPN usage spiked also to over 1m users per day (70m brits).

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“This is a war now": Giuffre family seeks accountability over redacted Epstein files (youtube.com)
This might be representative of how a large number of people feel. Most suggested that if there was really anything valualble in the terabytes of info, it would definitely never be released, because that type of information never has, through various events where the population really wanted information (JFK, 911, recent shootings, etc). All they released was some innocent photos, and seemed to be wanting to give up Bill Clinton, Noam Chompsky, Woody Allen. People who's reputations are already such that it won't make much difference or who are probably beyond wanting to go to parties anymore. What we've seen since then is these innocent photos of Clinton and others have been posted in widely shared memes with fakenews headlines etc on them, which for the public is as good as real news.

However, I do get the sense from listening to commenters that they are taking this as a sort of military line. How long will they be able to keep their focus? Usually it's a few hours and they forget.

Less prominent than Clinton, Chomsky and Allen, Larry Summers, Bill Gates were shown in completely innocent photos. Perhaps Bill Gates can be scared into scaring other people who can protect the secrecy?

November
On this page

CopyCop circulating hundreds of fake local newspaper sites to spread misinformation, alter behaviour (youtube.com)
If it needs trusted sources, not just the broad internet, to have accurate information, it will probably have to pay.

On this page

Information Warfare: "Poisoning The Well" (youtube.com)
Napster, eventually the viruses got so prevalent people's wouldn't use it, or they'd have to use a separate computer.

It's so much garbage in it, people are just going to give up and walk away.

There are ideas that are so difficult to verify or prove, that you could be just wasting your time and chasing your tail pursuing them.

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Is the FBI Concealing Info About the Trump Shooter? (youtube.com)
‘We have learned almost nothing about the shooter [of Trump last year]. He was killed almost immediately by Secret Service.’

But we have been told basically nothing since the Trump inauguration about this 20 year old who had almost no internet presence.

Tucker Carlson had been asking ‘Who is Thomas Crooks’. Headlines about how Carlson and Trump supporters are in conflict, which doesn't that seem doubtful to you, since Americans love truth tellers. ‘Maga divided over Tucker.’

Why The FBI Has Some SERIOUS Explaining to Do About Would-Be Trump Assassin, w/ Evita Duffy-Alfonso (youtube.com)

On this page

Trump signs Epstein bill into law, all files to be released within 30 days (youtube.com)
Does this mean all all? Or all but redacted? Commenters have said it won't be all all.

On this page

LIVE | “This Is the Real Cover-Up” — Tucker Carlson Links Epstein to Foreign Intelligence | APT (youtube.com)
‘This is always the tell. How you know someone has zero interest in getting to the truth of the question. ... They go immediately to motive. “You just hate the group. You're just taking money from this group.” ...'

‘I know who you are. You can’t even answer the question.'

‘Credit card debt is the single biggest cause of suffering in the US as far as I’m aware of.'

‘Not from Iran. Not from Qatar. From their credit cards, and their inability to buy a house.’

‘You borrow enough from the bank, you’re in control of the bank.'

‘They substitute things they claim you should want. Like bombing Iran.' The tranny stuff on girls soccer teams.

Tucker had a problem with ‘Shut up racist’ also. That was an issue in Canada 15 or 20 years ago if you wanted to even talk about immigration.

FBI Police Guarding Facility Housing Epstein Files (youtube.com)

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The Cybertruck Bombing Just Got DARKER — New Police Report Raises Huge Questions | Redacted (youtube.com)
‘A long manifesto on his phone, but you’re not going to get to see it. Sound familiar?'

October
On this page

Records Hidden from Public in Schools, Courts and Police Departments (youtube.com)
How cases in Cali are treated differently depending on if the couple is married (public versus not public information about the trial).

September
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House votes 212-208 to approve Jeffrey Epstein probe measure (youtube.com)
Lol, if you think the government is going to release anything of value. It's a drama parade.

But this should point towards Trump being in the thing. Because there's no way they'd tie his name to it if they didn't have to. Probalby, preparing for something to come out, they want to develop a story, thin as it might be, that there was a reason he was there.

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MUST WATCH: All Hell Breaks Loose As Swalwell & Patel Brutally Fight Over Trump-Epstein Questions (youtube.com)
That info is not coming out, at least from the Feds.

One thing is obvious. USA currently has a FBI that doesn't have to answer to Congress at all. Maybe it's subject to the oversight of the president, maybe not, for whatever time and energy he might have to give it, but it's not subject to Congress or any other elected rep, which means it's outside of the democratic system. It may only be somewhat subject to fear of the Supreme court, which is a very slow and uncertain consequence.

Commenters...

‘Imagine hearing an FBI director speaking like this 15 years ago, this is absolutely insane.’

‘PLEASE ANSWER YES OR NO’

‘This is a masterclass on how guilty people use every means necessary to skirt the truth: gaslighting, deflection, projection, ad hominem attacks, and anger.’

‘Remember: we pay them to act like this.’

‘We will take your evasiveness as a consciousness of guilt.' That was a good line.

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ABSOLUTELY SHOCKING: Wild Fight Breaks Out As Kash Patel and Jayapal Battle Over Epstein (youtube.com)
300gB found, Patel had said, but then later just showed one video and ‘sai there’s nothing more to see.'

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Op0dowmlLHk
No answers forthcoming.

On this page

youtube.com
Here, it seems Patel might be saying that three ‘federal courts’ have prevented him from releasing other information. What courts? He stated that ‘everything [he] has direct control over and can lawfully release’ he has released, and he stressed the ‘and can lawfully release' part. Since he avoided making any statements for the most part, him actually making a statement here might be indicative.

Patel also said that the lawmaker currently challenging Patel could have shown up to file the court to release the court orders (which prevent the release of information) but the lawmaker didn't do that, even though he has lawyers. This might be one of the key points here, although somewhat ignored. That no one wants to go for truth or whatever while their party is in office. Patel is right in throwing this at them, because they plenty of time to do the hard but effective thing of saying they wanted info released while their guy was in office, and never did. Why should Patel be the martry to go against his own guys now? Well, it isn't for everyone to be a martyr.

But the lawmaker replied, giving up, ‘It’s all misdirected.' Meaning Patel was evading.

August
On this page
Veterans frustrated after Stanislaus County employee exposes personal data (youtube.com)
Don't permit any organization or company to house your data tied to your name, simple and the only way. How many years more will it take for people to understand that's the only way?

On this page

“Privacy Is Power:” How to Exist in a World of Tech “Broligarchs” | Amanpour and Company (youtube.com)
Palantir, a giant database of all US citizens. ‘That’s a surveillance state. That's what China has.' Palantir already helping ICE in removal operations. Not just 1's and 0's, but is attached to people's names, and have consequences in the real world. ‘The computer says no, and that’s it.' There's no way for people to fix it. It's not opt in. ‘If you have the same name as someone on the terrorist watch list, which we already saw after 911, so imagine that on steroids.’

Tech leaders are going to become leutenant colonels in the US military?

‘Is there legislation anyone on the planet that works to serve as a check on AI, extent or reach of power?’ Will to act we only see so far in EU.

July
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Matt Taibbi Breaks News on New FBI Investigations Into Brennan and Comey... and Absurd Media Spin (youtube.com)
I wonder if people even care to see this happening now, so close after headlines about the Epstein information.

June
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Palantir EXPOSED: The New Deep State (youtube.com)
New types of corporatized spying and militarized companies to acquire new power and new roles. The government ‘eliminated information silos’ ie centralized info collection under one authority, not fragmented in different places.

A part of ‘removing unnecessary barriers to Federal employees accessing Government data' was to do with what used to be DOGE, so DOGE wasn't impeded and had full access.

I don't think anyone saw this coming, actually, because everyone was in favor and hopeful about DOGE, probably foolishly.

‘Everyone is converting to Palantir.'

The Deep State is always doing something in your interest, to protect you. Just like after 9/11, although it never found anything. The Patriot Act. Don't worry it's necessary. We're only going to use this for good things. Just so we can catch terrorists and terrorist plots more easily. Only in a small percentage of cases of using the Patriot Act was it actually used for terrorists (10 or 15%). Instead, it's been used for a whole bunch of other things, watching the American people.

What excatly is Palantir? Who is Palantir? What exactly do they intend to do?

Anything like Palantir, that handles tons of info on people, should have a rotating leadership, which protects from abuse. It's easy to find one corrupt guy, not so easy when it's random and depends on the public.

Palantir is already at the CDC and the IRS, monitoring and analyzing citizens.

Who will be the next Snowden?

On this page

Tim Dillon SHREDS Influencers For Palantir Shilling (youtube.com)

Presumably, Musk had access for months to all government information, records, data, whatever, so he should have full leverage against any political opponent and need not fear much since anyone in that situation would have created a failsafe chest of information publication.

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PimEyes: Dangerous implications of reverse image searches (youtube.com)
Blocked (the company blocks access to their own site) in 27 countries due to concerns the government will target people there. Lol.

Since 2017. Similar to what Clearview does for government agencies.

May
April
On this page

Facebook Whistleblower Makes Shock Claim About Mark Zuckerberg During Senate Testimony (youtube.com)
They created a ‘chief editor’ in mainland China, who reviewed any post that had over 10k likes, and also could turn off the Facebook service if they wanted, for example on special days, aniversaries, etc, she said.

I don't know about the witness though. She seems fairly purposeful. And she's just one person.

Teenage girls who've recently deleted a selfie (because it showed low self-esteem), and with young mothers there was some metrics to track their negative emotional state, and they used that to target ads.

13-17 is the most valuable ad market.

On this page

White House and lab leak (youtube.com)
What we knew within weeks of the start of the panemic, the White House (under Trump) is now saying. Information doesn't come out when corrupt entities are friends, but when they're not friends they criticize each other.

On this page

MUST WATCH: Byron Donalds Deals With Massive Boos And Audience Anger When Answering DOGE Question (youtube.com)

A commenter: ‘I’ve never heard a crowd sound so synchronized. There should be a way to verify there weren’t paid actors in the crowd.’

A lot of people commented they were probably bussed in.

On this page

Recently surfaced 9/11 evidence includes video of Capitol, airplane sketch | 60 Minutes (youtube.com)
Apparently, none of the even terrorism authorities had access or even knowledge about this video.

Saudi government said it's a tourist video.

There was also a piece of paper that had a math formula about height and descent with a drawing of a plane.

He also knew and helped settle some of the hijackers.

What is the FBI even for?

Science

November
September
On this page

Commonly used nasal spray may prevent COVID-19 infection (youtube.com)
2% compared with 7% placebo group.

Perhaps it causes the virus to bind to the mucus membrane and tf get stuck there. The study was young adults though.

April
On this page
Talk of using any cell from a body to turn it into an egg to have a baby.

On this page

Scientists discover more than 200 moons surrounding Saturn (youtube.com)

People talking about thorium reactors. No refining process, smaller reactors, not pressured so not explosive. Abundant.

World

December
On this page
U.S. authorization of 2nd strike of Venezuelan ship questioned (youtube.com)
Apparently, it wasn't enough to just shoot a bomb at a boat in the water, but after it blew up the boat and people were clinging to the sides, (after verbal confirmation from Hegseth, reportedly) they sent another bomb to kill those people.

‘The strike conducted on September second [three months ago] was conducting in self defense to protect Americans and vital US interests. The strike was conducted in international waters and in accordance with the law of armed conflicts,' stated the White House.

Is their real crime Venezuelan oil?

On this page

Britain’s new cyber warriors defending the digital frontline (youtube.com)
The British MOD recruitment project aimed at attracting people the military says wouldn't normally have considered joining the armed forces. They start as Corporals in the RAF. IT techs, computer scientists, hardware specialists, software devs are the previous backgrounds of these recruits.

Neuro divergent people can often see what others cannot, the army is now saying, and is interested in them.

Basic training not 10 weeks but just 1 month and then they do a few months specialist training. 3 years minimum required but 6 years expected while they do their technical training.

The size of the force is classified.

...

November
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DOWNTOWN VANCOUVER HALLOWEEN 2025 (youtube.com)
Vancouver, Canada is now mostly south asian and Chinese. Only a few white people to be seen.

On this page

Palestinians in Gaza lose hope in ceasefire after Israel’s deadliest violation yet (youtube.com)
Over 100 killed by waves of Israeli strikes.

‘... peace is out of reach in this area.’

Constant fire of explosions and gunfire coming from the east (from Israelis).

'Where are the international guarantees that were promised? Where are the mediating countries that helped broker the ceasefire and pledged to ensure its continuation?

At least the truth is out. Maybe wise old politicians said it could never work, not even 1% chance, but Trump brokered an agreement. It failed pretty quick, but this makes clear that Israel doesn't want peace. From what I've seen from street interviews, Palestinians don't want peace with Israelis either, and maybe won't accept any compromise, but they didn't break this truce, it seems.

On this page

Peru economy: Small businesses suffer as crime takes over country (youtube.com)
Extortion of shops by gangs, enforced by guns.

Maybe 2% of GDP goes to crime ($600m).

Guns and vests are up in sales. Buyers are mostly civilians, reportedly.

On this page

Sudan conflict: What are other countries' interests? | DW News (youtube.com)
Gold and minerals, agricultural land, regional security, might appeal to UAE's imperial ambitions to intervene.

Both sides have sanctions against them and can't easily get weapons, so depend almost entirely on external sources of weapons ('support' or ‘finances’). Both are exploiting gold and smuggling it out. Both have established strong war economies.

‘A war for gold?’

On this page

Former US Vice President Dick Cheney dead at 84 (youtube.com)
Comments section.

ruined millions of lives. a huge liar and war profiteer. evil. its a good day.

Allahu akbar. May Allah give him what he deserves. Ameen

Good riddance to bad rubbish.

A despicable war criminal.a liar

DO YOU TRULY UNDERSTAND HOW EVIL THIS DEMON WAS THE WORLD IS BETTER OFF BELIEVE ME.

You cannot imagine how happy I am right now!!!!! ❤❤❤

This is the first time in my life I just didn't care about a death. Good riddance.

THE WORLD IS A BETTER PLACE

Apparently Lucifer himself appeared as Cheney was dying, to personally collect his soul.

The Iraq war criminal

One of the most evil human beings

It's time for him to face his terrible punishment.

thanks nature for taking care of trash

Justice for Iraq

Evil dies too.

The war criminal....who destroyed Iraq

This guy and 911...

Today is a good day.

This guy was on a mission to destroy the Islamic society, this video is very kind to him…. From UAE….

I came for the comments. Not disappointed

Finally some good news!!!

Very good.......CELEBRATION

War mongers ... the end does come

A tyrant has fallen,the instigator of the unlawful 1990 war on Iraq.

Cheney, Bush, & their Saudi Arabian-Knights.

His spirit is floating over earth's atmosphere and he's pleading to us to give him prayers, but instead we're kicking him into space.

Alhamdulillah, first moment of victory and justice for Iraqis. Congratulations from India.

Architect of Iraq war, may God unrest his soul in suffering!

The mass murder is answering to his maker now. May God show no mercy on him.

The man who opened a new chapter of western interference, destruction, and terror to the Middle East and is responsible for the suffering and deaths of millions of people.
He deserved much worse than to die from a cold at the age of 84.

Cheney was actually US president not George W Bush. Invasion of Iraq was his plan and Saddam Hussein possessing WMD was only an excuse that caused hundreds of thousands of lives in Iraq

When they are told, “Do not spread corruption in the land,” they reply, “We are only peace-makers!”

"Indeed, it is they who are the corruptors, but they fail to perceive it." (Al-Qur'an 2:11-12)

Name an American politician who died without leaving the war legacy!

...

On this page

Vancouver Is DEAD And People Are Leaving Like Crazy (youtube.com)
Another possiblity, besides the general assumed one that Vancouver (and Canada) will just become an Chinese and Indian land, the cities already mostly so. Another possibility is that they just become second class cities and some other city rises to prominence.

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Former US diplomat: US navy build-up in Caribbean ‘is not a counter-narcotics operation'| DW News (youtube.com)
Provoke fear, perhaps land a few missiles inside Venezuela, on the thin pretext of counternarcotics, to try to cause regime change. Projecting its power.

On this page

Home Affordability Crisis, Palantir's Advantage, Big Short on AI, H-1B Abuse, Solar Storm Hits Earth (youtube.com)
Friedburg talked about how he was in Tokyo recently, and there's a ton of Westerner tech people there, lots of people trying to get a second and even third option for passport/golden Visa. An ‘alarming’ and growing trend that these peope don't see it as being in America anymore, that they want the tech progress things to happen in other countries now.

Is this that the young men have become unwelcome in the US/Canada/West, and have left as much as they can/they've experienced other places and know not everywhere is like the US, and the young women will follow them?

On this page

Reports of over 1000 people killed in Tanzania crackdown | DW News (youtube.com)
Americo Liberians and Krio (in West Africa), Amorasian (half Korean half American), Garifuna, Mestizos.

On this page

Why Border Patrol Recruits at Rodeos (youtube.com)
ICE agents are young. Customs and Border Protection sponsored Bull Riders league in 2008 and has been recruiting since. $20k or $30k incentive to join. Ride a horse on the border.

On this page

Watch Host Rush to Commercial After WWII Vet Says What No Politician Will Admit (youtube.com)
Commenter. 'This gentleman made one more stand against tyranny. I salute you Soldier '

'The USA and the UK have one thing in common. None of our troop's are fighting for freedom. They're fighting for the Elite, and the super wealthy. To a rich man, valor is a poor man's reward.'

On this page

Mongolia's bold plan to shift its capital city to ancient site of Khakhorum (youtube.com)

Including a transnational tourism belt that connects Russia and China.

When people visit, they will have to recognize the history with Gengiz Khan.

Mongolia's currect capital is crowded, cramped, air pollution.

The new capital would be big enough for twice the population, which is half the Mongolian population.

On this page

Thailand Says ENOUGH, Israeli Tourists OUTRAGE Locals (youtube.com)
There are two groups famous for outraging locals in many countries. Jews and Chinese. The main complaint for both is rudeness and lack of polite consideration. These two groups tend to stick together in their own group when they are in other countries.

Carney launches free trade process with UAE on trip to Abu Dhabi (youtube.com)

On this page

Army officers say they have seized power in Guinea-Bissau • FRANCE 24 English (youtube.com)
Israeli settler violence reaches new highs, says UN | DW News (youtube.com)
A violent group of Israeli settlers beat a Bedouin community in the West Bank. Some jewish activists were also beaten.

October
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Gunman holds ICE reporter at gunpoint: 'WANT TO BE KIRK JR?' (youtube.com)
Are Portland police not even responding?

Shirley said the governor and the mayor have ‘pretty much sided with Antifa’ and says they have a right to be there.

On this page

youtube.com
Just hauling people off in unmarked cars. Hitting cars on the way out, not stopping to deal with it.

Commenter. 'There's additional footage that wasn't shown showing Federal Officers asking them to move their vehicle, which was blocking and facing the wrong way in traffic, several times as the crowd gathered around the DHS vehicles. They refused, so this is the end result. Whenever ICE goes, they need additional vehicles to pick up U.S. citizens that are interfering with their operations or assaulting officers.'

On this page

My Life as an Economic Hitman with John Perkins | Shane Smith Has Questions | Vice News (youtube.com)
For those who don't know how US style ‘empire’ works.

If you're the Indonesian president, here's a nice young American economist, and he's saying you can have $2b (already allocated by the World Bank, which in turn is backed by the US) to build whatever infrasture project would be best for your country, and while it's being built your family and friends are going to make a lot of money, and your kids and friends all get scholarships and all expenses paid to top US universities and good jobs afterwards. Or if you say no we'll send in ‘the jackals’ that you've seen in Guatemala and other countries that didn't cooperate with the US.

The Panamanian president did stand up (and died under mysterious circumstances), and wasn't swayed by the nice young economist to not take the canal back to Panamanian ownership.

What made him quit was his friend, the Panamanian president, on a boat with friends and associates and a bunch of young babes, said don't you realize what you're really doing here? What effect you're really having on my countrymen? And his Colombian girlfriend (who's brother was part of what would become FARC) was saying the same thing to him.

He was in denial for several years, trying to convince himself of what was right. Then he decided he would quit and went into his US business's HR and they said Of course what you're doing is right. But he was ‘kind of living on alcohol and valium.’ A lot of pressure not to get out. He was on vacation in the Caribbean and saw some people who used to be slaves, and a place that was built by slaves, and thought he too was a slaver, not with a whip but an economic slaver. After the vacation he went back to Boston and quit.

What the US wanted was the collateral after the loan couldn't be repaid. Oil, permission to build a base, turn over companies to US companies because they can run them much better.
China becomes top destination for Mexican students looking to study abroad (youtube.com)

September
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LIVE: Palestinians flee Israel's ground offensive in Gaza City (youtube.com)
All they seem to have is matresses and plastic containers.

On this page

A Palestinian and a Zionist Jew (youtube.com)
This is a YouTube channel that sits two randoms down from different sides of a controversial and emotional subject and the guy mediates a guided conversation.

The young American (Kansas) Jew here says, ‘In no way have I ever or will I ever refer to the Palestinian people as my enemy. Cause the Palestinian people are my cousins, they’re my neighbors. It's my job to love and care and embrace every truly innocent Palestinian, and then the ones who do not fall into that category, who are part of a terrorist organization or are part of the anti Semetic view that wanna cause me and my family, I see you as another one of the generational enemies of the Jewish people who are going to rise up, and are going to fall.' (Referring to a Jewish teaching that every generation someone will rise up to try to kill the Jews.)

Maybe a perfect example of the strength of Christianity, which is the only religeon that goes beyond treating well your allies, to loving your enemies. Young people often question this part of it, and even wise old people question whether it's really possible.

The Palestinian man made a good point, that part of his frustration was exactly because it was with Jews, who should know what the oppressed experience is like, because the Jews have had centuries of it. ‘If the Jews did something to the Nazis who would call them a terrorist? The Germans would. But to the Jews or to other peaceloving, humane people, they would be freedom fighters.’

The young Jewish guy, though, said, ‘I want to establish a distinction between you [the Palestinian man] and Hamas. I would love to build a country with you. I can’t build a country with someone who says “I want October 7 to happen again and again.”'

People will support the warriors on their side if they think they're at risk, even if they have disdain for those warriors, said the mediator.

On this page

Trump says NATO countries should shoot down Russian aircraft if they enter their airspace (youtube.com)


Palestinians: What do you think of European countries recognizing Palestine? (youtube.com)
Palestinians won't accept a two state solution either, it seems. The won't accept Israel even if Israel is confined to 1967 borders, not for peace even. There will be no peace, it seems, just a choice between different arrangements of conflict.

A lot of the Palestinians have a real issue with ‘the Jew and the Zionist’ way of doing things. That the Jews kill people with planes and the killing of kids recurs a lot. If the Jews made reparations and changed this part of their policy, it could lower resistence to sharing with the Jews.

One guy said that the Samaritans were the original Jews in Palestine, and that they do not recognize the Zionists. He said that the Jews there now have no historic roots there, but are people who came from Europe and Russia.

On this page

Harvard Professor Answers Middle East Questions | Tech Support | WIRED (youtube.com)
Muslims don't like US bombing Iran with Israel, but they also are afraid of Iran and what Iran might do, what problems Iran might cause, or that Iran may dominate the region with weapons.

On this page

FULL REMARKS: President Trump & Netanyahu Outline 20-Point Gaza Plan — Ceasefire Could Be Near |AC1E (youtube.com)
‘Peace in the Middle East.'

This cements his reputation as a deal maker, and no Democrats even can deny it, if it even lasts a year or two. Other Middle East powers and European countries all involved. ‘Things they can live with and things they can’t live with.' Turkey, Indonesia, Pakistan, Egypt.

Immediate (72 hours) return of hostages and bodies, immediate cesation of hostilities, demilitarization of Gaza, decomission military powers of Hamas and all other ‘terrorist organizations’, destroy all tunnels, infrastructure, etc. They'll train police forces working with the new transitional infrastructure, and Israeli forces will withdraw in phases. Arab and Muslim countries will deal with Hamas, Trump guesses they probably already have an understanding. If Hamas accepts the deal, ‘they’re the only one left. Everyone else has accepted it.' (?)

He said US will be there helping with security.

But how can Palestinians trust Israel and give up all their defenses, that is to say weapons and infrastructure?

He hopes they can get along with Iran.

Trump talked about how he set up the US embassy in Jerusalem in his first term, something popular with Jews there, and something a lot of people had reservations or concerns about. ‘No president’s been better to Israel than Donald Trump. ... The people of Israel want it.'

The hostages worked a lot, it seems. It at least gave them a bargaining chip, especially a political popularity bargaining chip, a bargaining chip for Trump or anyone who wanted to broker a deal.

Netanyahu said it this way, ‘I support your plan to end the war in Gaza, which achieves our war aims. It will bring back to Israel all our hostages, dismantle Hamas’ military capabilities, end its political rule, and ensure that Gaza never again poses a threat to Israel.'

He did take some digs, though, perhaps to sow opposition amongs the Palestinians, opening his speech with naming the four points of the Jewish territories, names that are probalby provocative to Palestinians more than just contexutalizing for Jews. He thanked the Israeli soldiers in the war ‘between civilization and barbarism.’ Who is the barbarism? He mentioned successes against Iran (air strikes).

‘Israel will retain security responsibility, including a security perimeter.’

Palestine will have a government which is neither Hamas nor the Palestinian Authority.

‘But if Hamas rejects your plan, Mr President, or if it initially seems to accept it but then basically does everything to counter it, then Israel will finish the job. This can be done the easy way or the hard way, but it will be done. We prefer the easy way...’

He noted that Trump had rejected the idea of a Palestinian State (at the UN recently). The PA can have no role in Gaza without undergoing a radical transformation.

The PA would have to recognize the Jewish state, change textbooks (that teach negative things about Jews). But Palestinian lands will be governed not by Hamas or the PA, but by people who genuinely want peace in Gaza (foreign Muslim nations, I guess).

On Trump's suggestion, they took no questions after the speeches, and Netanyahu agreed.

This use of foreign forces in a war zone, is this basically an alternative UN? A lot of people talk about the threat (positive or negative) to the Western/US hegemony alliance posed by BRICS, but maybe a new alliance will emerge that is US/Israel, UK, (Canada Australia subservient to US), Middle Eastern states, Turkey, Argentina, El Salvador. Maybe with participation from Pakistan, India, Taiwan.

August
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The smart farm revolution: AI meets agriculture | DW News (youtube.com)
This is the revolution that's coming up, I'd guess. Everyone will grow their own food with robots.

On this page

Mexico lifts 8 million people out of poverty since 2022 (youtube.com)

The dawn of post-literate society - with Jared Henderson and James Marriott (youtube.com)
In history, declines in literacy accompany things like civil wars, etc, but this time it's basically just ‘smart phones.’ Gap between reading good students and not good students, since government Pandemic measures.

Does it really matter? Do the herd of uneducated, don't want to be educated, people really matter, so long as there are educated people to make decisions for them and run the machines? College grads no longer read for pleasure.

IQs rose year over year until sometime in the 2010s when they started declining.

In a book, information is dense, arguments are dense, print requires the writer to make a logical case for an argument. If you make a case in print, you have to make it logically add up, unlike TikTok or YouTube where you can just assert things. 'Print priveleges a whole way of thinking and a whole way of processing that is more logical, rational, information dense, and intellectually challenging. In a book you can pause where you were reading, think about things, go do something, and come back to that exact moment and continue.

‘If you can’t write it down, you can't interrogate it in a way that leads to the birth of philosophy.'

We might be re entering an oral culture, since TV and radio, the 60s. But now we might not be moving toward an oral culture (which often has a high imporance for memorization) to a broadcast society (where people are purely receptive).

I don't know. I went to high school decades ago, before smart phones, and most people I knew never read books (except some did school books because they were good students). Most adults I knew read mostly popular novels (romance or spy thrillers). This was a small town, though, and kids from the city were more sophisticated. Today, where I live no one reads books either. But if you go to the city, and go to a used book store, you can find people who read and have things to talk about.

Note, though, that even in times of high literacy (like Periclean), culture remains oral to a high degree, people trained to read or to listen (to plays and poems or oratory) and discuss it.

On this page

Is the Trump administration planning to invade Venezuela? | DW News (youtube.com)
Although the default has to be that a state should never invade another state, and the invading state hasn't exactly established a record for human or civil rights protections or belief or action, in the case of Venezuela, while there may be better ways still, the Venezuelans I know have suffered for years and are suffering now, because their government isn't doing anything for them. No one even really knows why or what the government is doing, since the people can't practice journalism there, consequences are dire. Most (all?) want the worst to happen to Maduro. I mean, he's had a lot of time to figure something out there, but hasn't done anything to improve anything, and if unchallenged it looks like there will be no relief for Venezuelans for who knows how long. Of course, a democratic solution is incomparably better, because a violent government replacement only invites itself to be taken over the same way, since it has no democratic or other legitimacy, and has established itself as an entity that allows violence as such a means. Venezuela, therefore, could be a failed state either way.

The world is currently somewhat animated with anti immigrant sentiment and pro Palestine sentiment. Protests in Ireland, England, Japan, Germany, Spain, Mexico.

July
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ICE Is About To Be EVERYWHERE (youtube.com)
I wondered about this also last month, when I asked if ICE would become the new/next stasi.

Border security at US borders is becomming a job of people processors, and how can they really be going after the bad guys?

On this page

Thailand launches airstrikes on Cambodia after clashes on disputed border | BBC News (youtube.com)
Checkpoints closed for now. Thai says Cambodia launched rockets into a village. Overlapping territorial claims.

June
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Trump’s travel ban: Protecting the nation or playing politics? | DW News (youtube.com) (entering US)

Haiti, Myanmar, Afghanistan, Iran, Sudan, Chad, Congo, Eq Guinea, Eritrea, Libya, Somalia, Yemen.

On this page

Israel strikes Iran, targeting nuclear sites (youtube.com) CNN's headline
Israel carries out attacks on Iran’s capital, Tehran: Reports (youtube.com) AJ's headline

I only watched the AJ one, since this has to do with Israel.

Israel has declared a State of Emergency and banned public gatherings, including attending schools.

Six explosions with smoke in the city of Tehran. No word from Iran about what they say is going on. Only footage from Tehran (cellphones). Israel did say their their air forces are involved in this. Netanyahu is in a special meeting for the situation.

On this page

Reaper Drones used to assist ICE amid raids and protests in Los Angeles (youtube.com)
Military drones used in America, affecting Americans. Amazing they allow this.

On this page

DEBATE: John Mearsheimer & Yoram Hazony on Israel vs. Iran (youtube.com)
‘The evidence is that the lobby gets what it wants from Trump. There’s no evidence that Trump has stood up to the lobby in any meaningful way.'

If Iran had nuclear weapons, there wouldn't be the current war, theorized Mearsheimer. Except for proliferation consequences.

Hegseth and Gen. Caine Detail Air Strikes Against Iran (youtube.com)

May
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Up to 40% of Non-Doms May Leave UK, Warns Tax Lawyer (youtube.com)
Started 18 - 9 months ago. Frequency is increasing.

Politicians were betting they could raise taxes on non-doms and they still wouldn't leave.

Milan (Italy has a flat rate payment), Switzerland, Jersey, Monaco, Dubai. These are the ‘hot opportunities’ for them.

There are non-doms, and also ‘shadow non-doms’ which are not really on the radar but if they leave, some of them are the richest, so the country loses liquidity and taxes.

London is a significant financial hub, and people are coming to London, but people are also leaving. Push and pull factors.

US high net worth, some are considering moving to UK. US has global taxation anyway.

...

On this page

Texas bill amendment empowers gov to ban land purchases from foreigners (youtube.com)
From certain countries and certain

The governor already had power to block buyers from countries considered national security threats by US Director of National Intelligence (China, Iran, NK, Russia). Now the governor can block purchases from any country he personally considers a threat.

The Romans believed that bringing their best technology, their modern, advanced, largescale infrustructure, fine goods, and civilizing the people in their conquested lands, the high culture would soften the military instinct and their view of the Romans. America was famous before 1950 and even up until the 80s or 90s for this.

China may be almost there. Unable to get any American products (even products from American companies now made in China) for decades, only complete garbage, I've recently started to hope for replacements from China. They've been making good little computers. They of course make drones and phones. It seems they might not be able to achieve the kind of romance the Americans and Romans had, where Americans in a Third World country really stood out (and still do) just for how they look and act, their impressive ways. But maybe, as China rounds out it's abundance level maybe it's people will become focussed on making themselves attractive, and they will appear something special when they're in other countries, I don't know.

You could say the Americans still impress the common man in the Third World (even if much less than the 50s Americans), but the Romans really only concerned themselves with the upper class elites in a territory, and I don't think those people are too impressed by Americans anymore. They could be impressed by Chinese if the Chinese becames something flashy, mysterious, high performing, and novel.

On this page

White South Africans granted refugee status by Trump arrive in US | DW News (youtube.com)
Nice move for US, anyway. Sudden influx of pretty asimilable and similar people.

On this page

Trump Has Heated Meeting With South Africa's President Over Genocide Claims (full remarks) (youtube.com)
Is there genocide of white farmers in SA? I think probably everyone is familiar with this story from 15 or so years ago when documentaries came out, but the governments didn't seem interested (because the victims were white, is a fair assessment).

I don't know if this is a positive. Whites not being seen ever as victims maybe gives them clout everywhere. It also reinforces positive traits of accountability. You don't really hear about whites trying to claim victimhood or making a career or entrepreneurship out of it becaues it pays. So whether this is a positive for white people I'm not sure. It might have been better to throw in our lot with the people there fighting for their farms and do the fight with them.

On the other hand, it might universalize the concept of victimhood (which currently applies mostly to blacks and a bit to brown people, and even a bit to asians but not in economic terms, only in making fun of asians with slurs), and then maybe everyone will put it down if it's seen to be a universal thing (not political ie one group taking resources from another). \

I haven't seen anyone in the know commenting on the SA thing though, to give an idea of what's going on these days.
Federal agents in Phoenix detain migrants after immigration hearings (youtube.com)

On this page

‘I was so scared’: U.S. citizen recounts being held up at CBP (youtube.com)

US can make a Terawatt of energy for it's grid at any one time (so US is like 1 going to 2). China adds that much capacity every 18 months (they have 3 going to 8). Lots of solar, hydro. China generates 10 TWh versus US's 4 TWh per year.

‘Robotics allows people to get an incredible amount of work done.’ Friedburg.

April
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Houthis shoot down 7 US Reaper drones worth over $200M within weeks (youtube.com)

Miami is the neutral country in Latin America. Latinos all have property or are buying in Miami. Most latam countries have deficits with the US so weren't tariffed hard.

On this page

Spain and Portugal hit by major power outage (youtube.com) 'Rare atmospheric phenomenon' behind huge outages in Portugal and Spain (youtube.com)
Half of the grid still working.

They have to bring the grid back online bit by bit (maybe take 10 hours) because voltage being higher or lower causes parts of grid to trip. Have to make phone calls and coordinate. After 12 hours batteries are empty and it becomes more complicated still.
Spain and Portugal hit by major power outage (youtube.com)
Power returns to parts of north, south, west Spain: grid operator • FRANCE 24 English (youtube.com)

On this page

What Is It Like to Start a Business in Japan As a Foreigner? | Street Interview (youtube.com)
Big, stable companies, avoid risk.

The process is so good, so already figured out, people just follow it, whereas in the US there is no process so people improvise, said one guy.

The ground level may be making cartoon characters to get kinds comfortable with the idea (like coffee candies and cartoons), so 20 years later they might be customers.

In Japanese companies, the way of building trust (in employees), is sort of just seeing who is willing to stick around the longest, who can we count on, said another. It's not about who is working the hardest or who is doing the most outstanding work. They're more interested in how they appear in the office, they're preferred by the managers, who appear to work hard when the boss is around, their behavious, rather than favoring people who do the best work. Appearance, manners, extra bow, walking people to the station, staying late.
Spain and Portugal hit by major power outage (youtube.com) ¿Qué ha provocado el gran apagón en España? (youtube.com)
Since they don't want to say, should we assume it's something they don't want to say, like China, NKorea, etc? A local or random hacker they didn't want to pay off?

Politics

December
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Alberta pushing back against federal gun buyback program (youtube.com)
She said she was interested in refusing to enforce or prosecute the federal program to take citizens' guns.

On this page

Did Georgian police use a chemical weapon against protesters? - BBC World Service Documentaries (youtube.com)

‘It’s about who gets to control the raw collateral that keeps the global financial system from imploding.' US doesn't need oil, it can buy that anywhere, it needs the reserves still in the grown to back it as collateral on loans etc. said Mearsheimer.

On this page

Trump Pardons Ex-Honduras President: Lawyer Says Case Was Built on ‘Unverified Allegations’ | APT (youtube.com)

US government used another musicians' song without permission, this time a Sabrina Carpenter song for an ICE raids video. She replied saying the video was ‘disgusting’ and not to involve her further in their agenda.

Hegseth reportedly also used a children's illustrator's famous bear cartoon for a violent depiction in a post, without permission.

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Launch of Women's Coalition on Immigration (youtube.com)
‘Non national men are overrepresented'

Wrote about this about 5 or so years ago, that men currently cannot fight political fights because they have been made (and have accepted being) supervulnerable, through laws, social condemnation, and later ‘cancellation', and the next political fights would have to be done by women because they are not cancellable, none of their decisions or actions are subject to criticism or condemnation, and they are not cancellable. Seems like that has been part of the social trend over the past about year.

...

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Trump is Winning Over the Fed (youtube.com)
‘The economy is strong and we have to fix it’

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‘Hateful speech has real consequences’: Rabbi speaks out after Bondi Beach attack (youtube.com)
However, the commenters basically unanimously didn't agree with the rabbi.

‘Anything to promote C-9. Everything is political. Everything.’

‘To control information is to control history’

'“The more corrupt the state, the more numerous the laws.”
― Tacitus, The Annals of Imperial Rome'

‘Lets see what laws will come into effect because of this attack... lol’

‘Put who did the attack on the front page, but they wont because it wont fit the MESSAGE’

‘Harsh consequences for actual violence, YES! Policing speech? NO!!! Shame on those who would use this awful atrocity to justify silencing, censoring, and controlling normal law-abiding citizens!’

‘We all know what this really is. Don’t be fooled’

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Brazil’s largest and most powerful criminal groups extend economic, political influence (youtube.com)
‘Brazil organized crime extending their influence.’

Could this be one of the reasons governments adapt, since currently few governments have any support from their citizens, since they don't represent their citizens and generally work against them?

November
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Sudan is a 'playground for some of the richest nations in the world' - Emi Mahmoud | DW News (youtube.com)
'A continuation of the Darfur genocide.' Funded by UAE and supported by Ukrainian special forces, she said. RSF is supported by KSA, Egypt, Iran, Turkey, and Russia. The two powers that could end the conflict are UAE and KSA, allies of the US.

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Zohran Mamdani Says He's Ready for Donald Trump | The New Yorker Interview (youtube.com)
Got Muslim and South Asian voters. Not popular with blacks. When instead of answering questions a mayor elect just tells political stories, should anyone see any reason to expect good outcomes here?

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Key takeaways from the US election night | DW News (youtube.com)
A year ago, the now 34 year old, went around New York with a microphone trying to get people to talk to him, and basically no one knew him, he was a little known state lawmaker, a Muslim, a South Asian descendent, (but in support of trans etc) and a democratic socialist. Now he'll be sworn in on January 1 2026, and he said his election was a step towards beating Trump. It seems some voted for him because he promised to make public transit free.

The MTA system costs about $20b per year though. NY's nominal GDP is $2.3t, NY's mayor's budget is $120b. $40b goes to education, $8b to debt service.

Many Democrats, such as Schumer, decided to not endorse Mamdani, but it's expected many will now jump on board and ride the wave.

The people said they think he will be something they've needed a long time, a politician for the people, not ‘a corporate Democrat, something we’ve had all these years', someone who is really for ‘all of us’ (minorities). Mamdami made some ‘pretty significant promises that stuck with voters.’

Democrats have won (clean sweep, not close) lots of elections recently (but in Democratic leaning polis's), beating expectations, ‘comfortable wins.’ 2/3 of Californians support prop 50, to redraw voting districts to get more Democrat seats in Congress. Other states have done this already, reportedly (including Texas?).

Has Mamdami shown how Trump can be defeated in politics? or is this just in New York?

Building coalitions like Obama but refocusing it around working class issues.

Is this ‘more of a positive politics’? Prices of things. Trump is about migrants, refugees, us versus them, enemies within, specific issues, say some.

The best politician for those without any good options might be the one who no one knows anything about and hasn't done anything yet. It's easy for him to give promises and easier for the voters to believe them.

...

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Liberal minority survives first of three confidence votes (youtube.com)

Where Trump has fallen most in recent polling (lots of polling recently) is the areas he was elected on, ie he was strongest on. Economy, looking out for the middle class, and inflation. Does OpenAI Need a Bailout? Mamdani Wins, Socialism Rising, Filibuster Nuclear Option (youtube.com)

Youth unemployment is spiking because as companies cut, they don't want to hire and train young people. Training an AI is easier.

NY would have the highest tax rate in the country under Mamdami's presents.

‘If one has no stake in the capitalist system, then one may well turn against it.’ Thiel years ago blogged this. Because of debt and housing prices, people will have negative capital and find it hard to start accumulating capital.

Sacks countered this, saying that the reason people are in debt is they do college degrees on Art History and things that are never going to pay, then they have student loans they will ‘never be able to pay’ and thus will be bound to adopt socialist policies to not pay their loans and maybe pay them for doing non valuable tasks. The millenials are just unemployable, he said.

NY is 80/20 Democrat anyway, so the victory was a narrow one, Sacks said. Blue cities getting bluer. Democrat becomming more radical, genuine socialist revolutionaries, and usually US politics is not radical, it's two fairly moderate parties. If the Trump and Republican side doesn't deliver on policies, these radical Democrats might take power in 3 years. Jcal's chart showed that people born in NY only 38% voted Mamdami, and the less time voters lived in NY the more likely, less than 5 years in NY 85% voted Mamdani. Centrist Democrats are losing to the more Socialist ones in NY. Also, Cuomi was ‘the worst candidate,’ ‘not a fresh candidate’, he had been #metoo ed.

‘SF ran this experiment.’ ‘An interesting A B test for America.’

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The Strongman Breaking Point | Peter Atwater on Why Something Has to Give (youtube.com)
If you are running a prison, you have zero control but absolute certainty. You have to create clear rewards for those that comply and clear punishments for those that don't. Very transparent, very extreme. The consequences of being a beneficiary are enormous.

A policy response that picks who the beneficiaries are.

PE as an indicator. I doesn't matter these days, said Atwater. Because the speed at which strong leaders (government) ‘can transform a beneficiary into a victim makes those measure at best temporary, transitory’. ‘You have to become a mind reader of these national leaders.’ ‘The noise is the message’ (versus people who say don't listen to the noise.) What are their wants, needs, objectives, friends, enemies, who have they alienated?

What unites people isn't so much the cause as it is the feelings.


Ukraine ministers resign over major corruption probe | DW News (youtube.com)

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youtube.com
If you think youth in Canada want to do anything but go on Tiktok, meet boys or girls, and play video games.

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Some were saying he might not even get support this election to lead his party.

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The rise of ‘Kirkifying’ means Charlie Kirk’s image is suddenly everywhere (youtube.com)

'Sacralization and Mobilization Theory. The theory suggests that an individual's death or extreme suffering is often necessary to transform a political or religious cause from a set of abstract ideas into a sacred, moral, and unifying movement.

'The Power of the "Second Witness". The crucial theoretical component is that a martyr's power is not inherent in their death, but in the narrative constructed by the surviving community. ... The Transformation: The surviving group (the "second witness") then co-opts, interprets, and magnifies the death, transforming the victim from a mere casualty into an Icon (a figure of collective identity) and a Symbol (representing the pure, non-negotiable moral boundary of the group).

'The sacrifice of the martyr justifies the legitimacy of the new rule or movement, acting as a catalyst for change by generating emotional and moral energy.

'Martyrdom is most powerful when used by a group or leader that perceives itself as weak, oppressed, or in an inferior position against a superior enemy.

'Rallying Cry: Dying on behalf of a cause signals the unjust suffering of the innocent and serves as a powerful rallying cry. It unites the followers through a shared sense of victimization and moral righteousness.

'Moral High Ground: The claim of martyrdom allows a group to employ aggressive or violent actions while still maintaining the moral high ground in the narrative, claiming they are merely victims fighting back against the "evil" oppressor.

'Modern Authoritarianism: Aspiring authoritarian figures will often rhetorically create "martyrs" (or exaggerate the suffering of their followers) by relentlessly portraying their opponents as an "existential threat" to the "true people." This rhetorical victimhood justifies purging, intimidating, or otherwise acting outside of established democratic rules.'

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Glenn's Thoughts on Chomsky & Epstein's Baffling Relationship (youtube.com)
Outsiders club.

Good example of how an intelligent but woke person (Greenwald) struggles to grapple with realities they have never wanted to admit, and have built their entire understanding around counterfactuals. And how they (Greenwald) try to find reasons to explain behaviour that can't be explained by their woke false understanding.

‘Very clear Chompsky had a great deal of respect for Epstein’, as everyone has said about Epstein.

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The New Designation: Senator Marco Rubio is reportedly pushing to designate the "Cartel de Los Soles" as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO). The Connection to Maduro: Rubio asserts that the FTO is headed by the "illegitimate Nicolás Maduro".
"I had nothing to do with Jeffrey Epstein." (youtube.com)

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FBI's Kash Patel crashes out over online honeypot theories (youtube.com)
Patel lives with a male roommate since 2019 and he doesn't live with his girlfriend, who makes contect for PraegerU, they report. Mossad?

Maybe he's impressing people about as much as you'd have expected.

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Arizona town council votes to eliminate public comment (youtube.com)
Talking now only limited to agenda items only. Otherwise they can only listen but not weigh in.

The mayor cleared the public and only allowed journalists to stay in the room.

The council said it was an ‘attempt to balance First Amendment rights of the community against the threat of lawsuits.'

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White House insists Trump wasn’t calling for the execution of Democratic lawmakers (youtube.com)
Because sitting members of Congress conspired to produce a video message speaking directly to active military etc to defy lawful orders by the president. The six Democratic lawmakers say that they're asking military to defy illegal orders.

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Rossman.

Lol the politician talking about how engineers on military ships can't repair microwave ovens and things, well they can, but they can't because they have to talk to the company etc, who has to talk to someone else etc.

Palantir is part of this problem, it seems, somehow. Data as a service, versus right to repair. The politicians who push data as a service, their campaigns are funded by the defense industry, their employee goes on to work for a lobbying firm that represents Palantir, sensible language that saves the US taxpayer money is replaced with garbage that allows Palantir to rob the American public fund.

If it takes hold, it could dominate the consumer space in the US for 30 to 50 years, Rossman suggest.

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Trump and Mamdani Strike Unexpected Truce After First White House Meeting, Praise Each Other | APT (youtube.com)
Everyone remarking on how they got along so nicely, surprising everyone due to their aggressiave statements about each other.

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What The HELL Just Happened ?? (youtube.com)
Clips of Mamdani calling Trump fascist, oppising ICE, and more, then more clips from today showing both wanting to be a team.

Commenters noting Trump is dominating Mamdami in this way. Mamdani thinks he is keeping the ability to be authentic with his supporters, but he's ‘kissing the ring.’

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‘It’s OK’: Trump jokes Mamdani can call him a fascist (youtube.com)
It went something like this. The press presses Mamdani about calling Trump a fascist, and Trump taps Mamdani and says It's ok, you can just say it, and Mamdani smiles and it like yup, and Trump is like It's ok I've been called worse. It's just easier than explaining it to the press. Something like that.

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AI, UBI, and the Collapse of the Two-Party System — Andrew Yang Breaks It Down | Shane Has Questions (youtube.com)
49% of Americans self identify as independent.

Democrats want to say they're democratic, except when it comes to chosing their own candidate (last summer when they didn't primary and just picked Kamala). Which is funny since it's like the only point of actual democracy between citizens and government, ie where citizens say/vote.

Why still run for president (or any leader), if they're going to just come after you in nasty ways, and everyone you know also.

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Australia’s U16 Social Ban Drives Influencers Abroad | Ai tool is Watermelon | Tech News | 25 Nov (youtube.com)


Insider trading technicality lets members of Congress profit millions (youtube.com)
Using nonpublic info that only they have to make highly profitable stock trades. But not illegal due to an FCC technicality, because they are not ‘insiders’ under the insider trading law, and also the politicians are not privy to insider company information, they simply know what politicians are going to do. Pelosi's husband traded stocks at opportune times and they are now worth $270m.

Legislature is looking at a couple of acts, but neither has gotten far yet. Past laws that were supposed to have stopped politicians from doing this seem to have been ineffective.

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This Is What Happens When Illegal Immigrants Are Counted In The U.S. Census: Assistant AG (youtube.com)
Makes votes in one state count for less than votes in another. Apportionment Clause and Equal Protections Clause of Constitution.

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NHS Open Source Policies - All Quietly Removed… (youtube.com)
At a craft fair. She called someone a groomer ‘in a sense out of duty’. What had the groomer done? They would be willing to keep a young person's secret. For her, that is a ‘red flag' for groomers.

October
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Andy Ngo Explains Why Antifa Doesn't Get Arrested in Portland | Joe Rogan (youtube.com)
In Portland the mayor is also the police commissioner.

He criticizes that the press etc in Portland refer to them as ‘antifascists’ thus giving them a ‘propaganda victory.’ He claims that when Antifa claims they are defending a neighborhood it actually means offensive violence.

Joe Rogan talked about how weird it is to see these groups of young people with idealistic versions of what they're doing (organizing, wearing masks, physically assaulting often with mace or whatever people who are just disagreeing and where there was no hint of physical conflict). A lot of people involved really think they are fighting fascism, they think Trump and Proud Boys etc need the young to stand up against them.

7 years ago Joe Rogan - Steven Crowder Infiltrated Antifa (youtube.com) and Why is Antifa Allowed On Twitter When Proud Boys Aren't? | JRE Twitter Special (youtube.com)

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Sanae Takaichi to become Japan's first female prime minister | DW News (youtube.com) Liberal, China hawk, anti immigration. But won after no candidate from her party won enough votes in the first round, ie not that popular. Very conservative hard liner, people see her as someone who can make decisions, she won't follow consensus but actually will push through her agenda. Traditional, conservative values. The first female leader in Japan is not ‘feminist’ (Western popular definition), she opposes separate family names after marriage, against female succession to the throne.

Prices have risen in supermarkets, politicians don't care about regular people, scandals about slush funds and kickbacks, people lost trust. 3% of population is foreign residents, mostly tourists, double that of what had become normal. Higher than what Japan has seen before. Perception there is elevated crimes because of foreigners.

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Former Energy Secretary’s Startup Mints Three Billionaires Despite No Revenues (youtube.com)

‘US influencer Candace Owens says Israeli lobby pressure played a role in Charlie Kirk’s death, claiming his funding was cut after hosting critics of Israel’ TRT

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Senator Rand Paul Backs Effort to Block Military Strikes on Drug Boats (youtube.com)
Alone among Republicans opposing spending proposal.

$2t defecit currently, Republican plan is to go to $2.1, and Democrats is to go to $3t.

About 25% of the time Coast Guard approaches a suspected drug boat, they're wrong and the suspects are innocent, said Paul.

What was the evidence linking the 11 people blown up, what were they people's names? he wondered. The idea that you can kill people without knowing their names, without presenting any evidence ... Paul is supporting a condemning War Resolutions Act. He said probably no one will stand with him, even those who agree, because they'll be afraid of the response from the White House.

Trinity Minerals now the fourth company the government has taken a stake in. He called it socialism.

He said Trump, despite criticisms, is still the best president he's seen. Lower taxes, less regulation, more pro business. Way better than anyone else who has been considered.

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Japan vows 'ZERO' migration in VICTORY for FURIOUS Japanese campaign as new PM imminent (youtube.com)
More than half her policy speech addressed migration. Foreigners and crime. ‘People from abroad taking pleasure in trampling on Japanese feelings.'

The Right in Japan hasn't really had power since Abe.

Economically, she wants more fiscal spending.

To have an effect, she would have to hold power for a while. Doesn't always happen in Japan.

Venezuela's Machado wins Nobel Peace Prize, White House irked | REUTERS (youtube.com)
Does this have anything to do with peace? Venezuela isn't at war.

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2025 Nobel Peace Prize for Anti-Maduro Leader María Corina Machado "Opposite of Peace": Greg Grandin (youtube.com)
Nominated by Rubio and other Florida Republicans, she is a longtime US ally. She's ‘not a unifier,' the author interviewed said. She was a supporter or the 2007 coup against the democratically elected Chavez. Justification for US ramping up military actions against Venezuela? Is she a person aligned with a possible military invasion of her country from a foreign country? He seems to say that she supports the extrajudicial killing of the people in the boats, referring to them not as citizens but rather as ‘narcotraficantes.’

Top comment. ‘The Noble Prize wants to remind us that they are a propaganda award for western imperialism.’

Commenter. 'It is the United States that is seeking to unjustifiably start a new war. Venezuela does not produce cocaine, fentanyl, marijuana, opium, crack, or hashish, nor do we have drug processing laboratories. The world's cocaine supply comes from elsewhere: Colombia is the globe's largest producer of cocaine, with Peru and Bolivia also producing massive quantities. Furthermore, Ecuador has become a primary export hub for the drug. According to United Nations reports, this is why the vast majority of drugs that enter the United States do so through the Pacific Ocean. Venezuela does not have a Pacific coast—only the Caribbean and Atlantic. If we only produced mangoes, that U.S. fleet would not be in our territorial waters, aiming missiles at us. But we are sitting on the planet's largest proven oil reserves, the fourth largest gold reserves, and major gas reserves. That is the real reason. If the United States wants to fight drug trafficking, it should keep a close eye on how its own financial system launders all the drug money—a process which its own official sources confirm provides the fuel for criminals to operate and expand.'

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Hamas can’t access all hostage remains; Trump authorizes CIA in Venezuela | Unbiased Updates (youtube.com)
What does that even mean? Doesn't CIA do what it wants without asking the president anyway? Does it just mean easier legal nonaccountability?

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US commander overseeing Venezuela missile strikes to retire in December (youtube.com)
Suddenly announced his retirement. Usually this type of post lasts 3 or 4 years, but he just started last year. But he is 60 and some say he was a DEI.

Advocacy org. pushes to have former prime minister prosecuted in SNC-Lavalin scandal | APTN News (youtube.com)
Obstruction of justice and breach of trust, pressuring the AG to stop a prosecution of SNC. ‘Deliberately made old news by the RCMP.’ ‘They tried to burry it.’ ‘We’re not going to give up on it.'

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Global Soft Power Summit 2025 - Global Soft Power Index Key Findings by David Haigh (youtube.com)
China has overtaken UK for second spot. Worldwide policies like BaR, Confucious Centers, lending money. Soft power for policy objectives. Now there are more than 70 globally accepted Chinese brands in the top 500 brands, compared with 10 twenty years ago. Britain dropped from 40 to 20. US, note, has about 200, and a lot of those came to soft power during the 30 or 40 year period of US Soft Power after WWII. Favorability. Now there is a turn against US brands, and sometime active rejection, like of Starbucks.

The top countries for them are US, China, UK, Japan, Germany, France, Canada, Switzerland, Italy, UAE.

US had dropped from first to seventh in 2021, and they anticipate something will happen again, but quicker and deeper. They say the Trump admin looks to do this purposefully perhaps.

Israel and Ukraine down a bit, Russia up a bit from where it was last year.

Tourism effects everything, not just tourism itself (immediate economic benefits). Willingness to recommend investment, work there, study there, the products and services of the country. People don't always understand what other countries are all about, and tourism is a way they can understand this.

El Salvador shot into popularity.

They found that the larger players (US, China, UK, Japan, Germany) are taking it more seriously, investing more, and their ratings are increasing, and crowding out the small players, whose ratings are decreasing.

EM have been bolstered by new global powers, China and India, who are investing in these locations, not just US. Access to technology. New groupings.

Alternative payments, alternative currencies.

Diversification, friendshoring. Supply chains on the move. Companies are looking around the world to shift, not just Western either. Are you open to trade? Stability? Electricity supply and political stability are really important, more than low corruption or education. Islands of stability where global players will meet and join, conglomerate. UAE, Singapore, Thailand, KSA.

‘We criticized China for many year, and China didn’t change, and then rather than fighting we just joined the party. So now everyone's doing it. Everyone's doing industrial policies nowadays.'

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Defeating Maduro, Socialism & Freeing Venezuela - Nobel Peace Prize Winner María Corina Machado (youtube.com)
After her ‘Peace Prize’ win.

The promises of socialism from a government, she notes, the people think they are getting something for free, but they receive these things only if they cooperate and play by the rules of the government. Friedburg speculates ‘there is no socialism without tyranny.’

Petrodiplomacy, giving barrels of oil away to Caribbean nations to influence them, while the people didn't participate. Oil had been $10 but then went to $150 per barrel, and Venezuela had a lot of money to lobby other nations.

First Maduro controlled the media, she said, then went after other areas. Only those that were absolutely loyal were promoted, so there was no merit.

"Those who offer to give you for free what you need to get on your own through hard work, in the end, end up charging you your most valuable asset: Your freedom. Your your capacity to decide. To make your own decisions."

September
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Nepal protests erupt as soldiers patrol Kathmandu after unrest (youtube.com)
‘The country is likely to take a new direction. So far, the political parties have had a big influence, but ...’ Lol, never attended history?

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Nepal PM quits after deadly Gen-Z corruption and social media ban protests (youtube.com)
‘Fighting against corruption.’

Organizers have dubbed it ‘The Gen Z protests.’

What happened there was on SM, there was virality about the rich lifestyles of Nepalese nepobabies. Then there was a SM ban on X, Insta, Facebook (saying they wanted to tackle fake news, hate speech, and online fraud, which the youth didn't believe). Similar bans have happened in India, China. Nepal has often allowed more (or clamped down less on) freedom of speech than its neighbors (Paki, Bangla). The youth protested, and the government quickly put armed police/military on the streets (a move that may be the cause of the violence).

There was already high youth unemployment and complaints about corruption.

‘All the youth are going outside of the country, so we want to make the country’s economy better.'

Royals in the UK send their kids to do some kind of work, whether in the army or whatever. They don't flash brand name clothing or anything luxury. And the people, at least a big part, love them. Nepalese PM's kids I guess are flashing everything on SM and indulging their prerogatives publicly.

The government ‘has clearly created a separation between the civilians and the government.’

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Bolsonaro's sentencing: Excessive or a triumph for Brazilian democracy? • FRANCE 24 English (youtube.com)

A republican elected politician, Charlie Kirk, in his early 30s, was shot by a crazy guy, for political reasons, he wrote messages on the shells etc. All the conservative podcasters etc were all saying it was liberal violence, but it turned out he was a conservative, influenced by Nick Fuentes, and Kirk wasn't conservative enough for him. Some say that the young man had spoken against empathy and in support of the guy who attacked the husband of a liberal politician with a hammer.

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Charlie Kirk called for an 'amazing patriot' to bail out Paul Pelosi's attacker in 2022 (snopes.com)
This Snopes page has the actual video of what everyone is debating. Looks like he just didn't parse his categories well, probably because he was so young, because he seems active enough. It looks like he didn't support the attack, and support to that conclusion because no one really would support such an attack, although when you're a politician or influencer you have to also not influence others wrongly. It looks like his comments were a complaint about things he already didn't like, such as murderers being let out in Chicago, and wanted a mic to be given to the hammer attacker just so more strong criticism could be levied against those Kirk disagreed with politically. He spoke probably too rashly here.

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Trump gave a 20 minute tour to three of the besties here, showing the improvements to the Oval Office. Lots of gold. It makes quite a strong impresssion. Lots of portraits. The 1776 proglamation.

Besides being presedential, doesn't Trump strike you as very nice?

It would have been more uncomfortable if Jcal were there, probably, even though I'm sure he would have been decorous.

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Trump’s war on media: Jimmy Kimmel suspended over Kirk remarks (youtube.com)
Things are shaping up as expected. Trump is doing really good on the presidential side of things, being presidential, the economy, bad on the civil side, speech and other rights. Also, seems so far good with weak countries (Azerbaijan, Rwanda) and not so good with strong ones (Russia, Israel, China, Canada).

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This idea that the current government system isn't working in the US/Europe/everywhere/lol. Maybe 50 years ago people believed in Democracy, or perhaps only because it was contrasted with Soviet Communism, but it doesn't seem there's any support currently. Only that ‘it’s better than anything else'.

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Anonymous Unmasks the Real Reason Behind Kimmel’s Firing (youtube.com)
This channel called ‘Anonymous’ with the Guy Falks avatar says it was because Kimmel likened Trump to a 4 year old, not because of his comments about Kirk (on the same show).

You can follow the chain of president to media employee pretty clearly, if this is true, but as Charlie Sheen said about it yesterday, there's not a lot about it we know yet. So better to not jump to conclusions about blame, but it's interesting to look at for the still valuable systemic information it presents.

Trump perhaps already had influence pressed on ABC, because weeks ago he posted that Kimmel was ‘next’ after Colbert. After Kimmel's show (in question), ABC affiliates, owned by Nexstar, refused to air Kimmel's show. Sinclair Broadcasting, another powerful right wing media company, joined in. ABC, under Disney's control, caved, announcing they were suspending Kimmel's show indefinitely.

Nexstar is in the middle of a $6.2b deal to acquire Tegna, another giant in local broadcasting. That deal requires FCC approval. (Sinclair also had it's own regulatory concerns.) They actually need the FCC under Carr to change the regulations about how corporations can be owned so they can do this deal.

FCC chair Carr called Kimmel's comments ‘sick’ and strongly hinted broadcasters coul face consequences.

The government can just threaten corporations that rely on government approval. The Anonymous channel calls it ‘censorship through regulatory extortion.’ You can see why some people don't want governments to have any control over what should be separate independent government agencies like media regulations (FCC in America), and why governments constantly try to capture control share.

People are watching to see what happens to South Park. But the South Park contract is ‘carved in stone’ according to one commenter.

A couple weeks ago, right before Paramount's merger with Skydance was approved by the FCC, Colbert's show was announced to be cancelled soon (sooner than originally expected).

Comedians who criticize Trump, Anonymous posits, are liablities to big media corporations. Lol, you'd see the liability of having no funny edgy comedians also.

However, we kind of have had ‘no funny edgy comedians’ in terms of none of these shows did funny criticisms of Democrat leaders or causes. SNL had become extreme.

The Anonymous channel also comments that this is ‘a symptom of a system where too much power is concentrated in too few hands, and democracy itself suffers.’ This is also the situation in BigTech and also BigRetail. A dozen companies, easy to control.

Trump was the victim of these same things, cancelation, censorship, lawfare, and sounded like he was championing them on his campaign trail, but not many politicians actually do that once they're in office. Maybe this one will be just the same.

It strikes one similar to the story arc under Duarte, who the population of Philippines hungered for, and then he earned credit and acclaim in the early days because of law and order and cleaning things up, but just kept going.

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The Party of Violence (youtube.com)
1 year ago, posted by the Donald J Trump YouTube channel.

If there's one thing Republicans and Democrats can agree on it's probably violence. That or that the other party is worse.

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‘I hear all the time that words are violence. Words are not violence. Violence is violence.’ Gov Cox of Utah.

Chris Hedges' take is that first we saw those who protested the genocide (Gaza) attacked as anti Semites although 20 or 30% were probably Jewish. That was a way to shut down free speech. Then we saw undocumented workers called criminals as a way to build Trump's version of the Brown Shirts, ICE with all their detention centers, rogue paramilitary, budget larger than all law enforcement combined. Now the Radical Left is being painted negatively in order to shut down individuals and organizations that dissent in this development of an authoritarian state.

We don't have evidence yet that Trump will go that far, but we actually haven't seen any evidence that he wouldn't allow it to. When people have engaged in negative social actions (censorship etc) to his favor, he has praised them and smiled at their actions publicly. And in history we've seen that by the time history's dictators went too far, it was sort of too late for the citizens or opposition to do anything anymore.

Hedges pointed out that for all Trump's repeated talk about ‘flag burning’, when was the last flag burning. He said he doesn't remember one (recently).

Citizens should, though, burn the flag as often as they pledge alegiance to it, probably, because when we see people burn the flag we understand that they understand they have that right, to say what they want, even if it's unpopular, even if it's against the government or the powerful.

Hedges theorized that the White House will now use Kirk to carry out activities like shutting down organizations that are critical of the Trump party, and to look to Miller who is organizing all this. Maybe like Democracy Now. That anything that stands in the way of these things, they will label as a betrayal of what Kirk stood for.

He calls them ‘Christian facism,’ Christian heretics.

What organizations remain in the US to protect its open society?

There might be an intersection of white men and Christian nationalism, since Kirk and similar sort of existed in that nexus, Hedges.

It appeals to disenfranchised white males, and most of the people in the US now. Most Americans, especially young, are disengranchised, Hedges theorized, but it plays well to white males.

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Want to know how to Stop Trump? Watch this! (youtube.com)
‘How do we fight power at a time like this? History is there to lay that out for us.’

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Dictatorship Under Trump: A Progressive and a Proud Boy (youtube.com)
Within the first minutes, the older liberal man questions the young Proudboy man about recent developments, and the Proudboy, while still supporting Trump, doesn't look like he'll fall into line with things he disagrees with, and he doesn't agree with Trump's recent actions. This is probably what we should expect from Americans. They're the best educated in the world when it comes to civil rights. No other people even comes close.

Jimmy Kimmel's Suspension Was Always About Censorship (Just Ask Trump) | The Daily Show (youtube.com)
Stop making fun of people who can't pronounce 6 syllable unfamiliar complicated words on the first try reading. No one can do that.

Stewart wasn't funny here. I just put the link as a bookmark.

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Anonymous Reveals: Why Pam Bondi’s Fall Exposes Trump’s Darkest Loyalty Test (youtube.com)
Anonymous channel

She's 'trapped between the law and the cult. If she refuses Trump's illegal commands, she's called disloyal and weak. If she follows them, she risks criminal charges herself.' ... ‘He doesn’t want an AG bound by evidence. He wants a weapon. Someone willing to prosecute his enemies on command.'

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Trump: Ukraine can win back all of its territory and 'maybe even go further than that' | DW News (youtube.com)

...

If Trump is successful in many things like the economy, making America produce things again, tightening borders, etc, but bad in civil rights et al, there will be no Democrat solution in the next election except a person who is actually really well versed and competent in civil rights etc, not a regular Democrat politician who generally aren't great at anything and if they do offer something it's just a plan for the economy or some social policy. I occasionally see a foremost Democrat politian on my feed, like Harris or Newsom, and I just thing, ‘Get out of here. Get out of the way.’ They are not the person needed or even the type of person who can offer anything. They can only make it worse, especially if Trump and the Republicans are successful in the economy etc.

...

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Epstein Emails Show Support, Advice From Elite Network (youtube.com)
Bloomberg has access to 18k emails. New stuff.

It's a story about money, power and connections, not really about sex (although it has to do with sex also), said the journalist. It's not a story about Democrats or Republicans, it's about powerful people, and different kinds of powerful people, academics, elite intellectual researchers, PR and crisis stragegy people, lawyers.

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Colombia's Petro Mocks Trump At UNGA, Says He 'Doesn't Know He's Getting Advice From Cocaine Mafia' (youtube.com)
Division is happening.

‘Those who do not have bombs or large budgets are not heeded here.’

‘Missiles used [by USA] against 17 young unarmed people in the Carribean Sea, some of them Colombians.’

However, he then went a bit off truth, ‘a rich society, rich, white and racist, believes itself to be the superior race...' Petro actually said that. Pedro is another person dividing and causing tribalism.

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Colombia President: Real Traffickers Are Trump's Neighbours | GRAVITAS (youtube.com)
About the king pins of the drug business.

He noted that Trump was complicit in the Gaza genocide, though. It's too bad he wasn't just a bit more strict with facts, because he makes some good points, just they're weakened by his ridiculous statements.

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Argentina’s Economy Is Struggling. Why Is the White House Stepping In? | Big Take (youtube.com)
Perhaps mostly just to get Milei through the upcoming election (people have had enough of his austerity, it's a referendum on his 2 year presidency). As long as he continues strict measures, US is saying, they'll support Milei. Milei doesn't have the relationships with other politicians, he's sort of ignored them, and they're the people who can get the vote out. He's ‘vilified’ Congress. His sister is facing bribery allegations (government gives a contract to a private company and the politician takes cutbacks).

Both Trump and Milei have problems with all the other Latin American leaders. Lula, Petro, Steinbaum.

Milei is very popular among Conservatives in the US.

Secretly, Argentina might have agreed to replace their Chinese debt with US bonds. Shale gas, lithium are in Argentina.

August
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LILLEY UNLEASHED: International reaction after Canada recognizes Palestine as a state (youtube.com)
Not until September, joining France and England. Sounds like a bargaining chip. Or perhaps Trump asked these parties to go ahead and do this, since he can't say anything to Israel. In free elections, Hamas would win in a landslide, the proIsrael guest says.

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Trump Says Intel's CEO Should Resign Immediately (youtube.com)
‘The CEO of INTEL is highly CONFLICTED and must resign, immediately. There is no other solution to this problem. Thank you for your attention to this problem.’ Trump posted that.

CEO's ties to China.

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Oklahoma to require ‘America First’ test for out-of-state teachers (youtube.com)
Nazi reminiscence, anyone?
BATRA’S BURNING QUESTIONS: Failing grade for Prime Minister Mark Carney (youtube.com)
Doesn't matter. Canadians will only vote Liberal, and all it takes is an obviously fake promise to allow them to once again believe what any rational responsible person would never believe, because this suits them best.

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‘A big uh-oh for Republicans’: CNN chief data analyst on 2026 midterm-polling (youtube.com)
Seems likely. Lots of disgruntled now, lots of unimpressed with the deportations and ICE activity.

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Germany: More members of "Reichsbürger" group arrested over coup plans | DW News (youtube.com)
Have proof? Age 40 to 61, those arrested. Three different states of Germany.

Accused of ‘membership’of a ‘terrorist organization’.

They have soldiers and police in their ranks, reportedly.

More and more members?

Overlap in their purpose, the main overlap mentioned was politicians support for government measures during the 2019 pandemic.

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What Larry Ellison Doesn’t Want You to Know | ft. @Kaburbank (youtube.com)
So far, South Park and Colbert shows affected.

Larry Ellison's son now CEO of the company that's merging with Paramount, and with SoftBank.

She quotes Ellison as once saying, ‘Citizens will be on their best behavior, because we are constantly recording and reporting on everything that is going on.' Probably no such cameras on his private island in Hawaii or his yachts.

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Maduro mobilizes militias after US doubles bounty (youtube.com)

White House (communications director Cheung) called Jack White a ‘washed up, has been loser’. Is the White House petty?

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French presidency says Netanyahu's anti-semitism claim is 'abhorrent' • FRANCE 24 English (youtube.com)
But you must accept our claims of antisemitism any time we don't like your opinion. It's our version of ‘terrorism’.

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Bolivian Election: Socialists Collapse After 20 Years in Power (youtube.com)
Latin America turning away from traditional leanings?

Bolivians voted for the one party USA told them not to vote for (meddling?). Partially nationalized oil and gas, funding government socialist programs, created a middle class. Inflation remained low, surprising some people.

Problem seems to be just that they kept spending, and spent way more than they had, continually, until the economy corrected.

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Bolivian ex-leader's looming arrest warrant triggers protests (bbc.com)
It seems one of his opponents biggest weapons was to use technicalities to use charges not descriptive of his acts. Seems he had a young girlfriend and spent serious time with her. In all countries these laws bend politics away from justice.

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ICE Agents CAUGHT On Camera Pulling Disgusting Protest Sign Replacement Stunt (youtube.com)
Are they actually government agency guys? They look like a ragtag bunch, self organized. I don't think law enforcement is allowed to cover their faces, are they?

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Canada is investing $1.5B in military assistance for Ukraine, Mark Carney says (youtube.com)
If you wanna find where the money goes, here's the start of the trail.

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Carney Liberals FALL HARD in new poll - CPC now leading! (youtube.com)
Failed hard? Lol, the power is conserved, and the ability to direct money from the citizens to the interest groups.

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CBS News interview with ICE whistleblower interrupted by federal agents (youtube.com)
7 years ago.

Quit after being told to spread lies for the administration.

Protesters tipped off by the mayor.

It was DHS agents who just suddenly appeared knocking at his door and asking to talk to him while the interview was going on. When can we talk to you? Just as soon as I've contacted my lawyer.

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Argentina president Javier Milei escapes election rally after being pelted with rocks (youtube.com)
He was rolling through an opposition political area, and supporters of both sides eventually started fighting each other. He was with his sister (involved in the crypto scandal).

The opposition to Milei complains of lack of funding for infrastructure, schools, public services.
(Fed governor) Lisa Cook is suing Trump, saying he has no authority to fire her. It is ‘illegal’ to fire her, she alleges. Trump fired her for cause, he said, ‘decietful and potentially potentially criminal conduct.'

Likely going to the SC, ABC News suggested.

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Trump Takes On the Fed, US-Intel Deal, Why Bankruptcies Are Up, OpenAI's Longevity Breakthrough (youtube.com)
Only Friedburg and Jcal worth listening to anymore. But for all those whose capabilities, earned over years of work and learning, attract the attention of powerful figures who offer to let you join them, which is an offer with some attraction, power and people, you can watch Sacks, who used to be a very incisive and independent voice, and Chamath, who didn't really offer much before but is now something like a pupet for his party, and see how, if they had just said no I prefer to stay independent, they would still be able to have their selves, their integrity, their freedom.

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Who Is Paying For AI's Infrastructure? (youtube.com)
New hype industry. All our friends invest. Public pays for building. Profits go to us.

July
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House members react after passing Trump’s big bill (youtube.com)
‘I would have liked to have gotten more, let’s be clear, but ...' this is the politikspeak we hear always. ‘Everybody’s going to be OK, I can't stress enough...'

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Thailand gets it's third leader this week | DW News (youtube.com)
Commenter: 'I’m Thai and I don’t even know anymore what is going. Wtf, why am I learning about my new PM from an Indian in a german news'

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Russia launches hundreds of drones at Ukraine (youtube.com)
Is Trump now coming around to Zelensky's point of view?

Trump threatened possible more sanctions. At this point, I don't even register when I read the word 'sanction' in the news anymore. It's become ambient. 2 months, maybe 1.

It seems clear (not faked or arranged) that Trump didn't understand what Putin and Netanyahu are doing, despite America also pursuing their own wars for largely political reasons.

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Musk’s political party: A political vision or personal rivalry with Trump? | DW News (youtube.com)
Will read the manifesto when there is one. It might be somethign to see a party develop that had a list of new guarantees and goals and limitations, like the Constitution of 1787. That party, if it took power, wouldn't institutionalize their constitution to the degree the Constitution is, of course, but over time, it could establish a set of expectations and political rules.

Do I detect a certain way of speaking that all Trump supporters, who weren't Trump supporters before the current period, I mean they wouldn't have supported him 100% and would have been critical or at least unbiased. They seem to all be talking in a very similar way recently. And their job (of maintaining vocal support for perhaps increasingly unpopular policies) will become more strained.

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JUST IN: Gov. Ron DeSantis Reacts To Elon Musk Creating A Political Party: 'We Do Have A Problem...' (youtube.com)
Republican congresspeople always talk about wanting to cut spending but they never do it. A lot of them were against DOGE.

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Tulsi Gabbard: Deep State 'Exists Within Every Single Federal Agency' And Is 'Fighting' Trump Admin. (youtube.com)
Here's a vote for more government agencies.

I think about half a year ago, I wrote how for the first time, and more or less because of the rise and election of Trump at that time, and how everyone was starting to behave, and it looked like some actual positive things were possible, that is all gone now. Every time I open YouTube and scan the news, it's very negative. Trump has passed a huge secretive spending bill, has fallen out with Elon, isn't doing any of the information publishing he said he would do, which maybe we expected, but he seems to be trying to cover it up or gaslight over it, when it would be better if he said he didn't have the power to do it and he wasn't happy. Israel seems to be ruling America, Israel is bombing Iran, and without any seeming limits set on them. War with Iran or Russia seems closer. Privacy and security and human rights seem less secure, since the president doesn't seem to care about them, having never studied them. AI and technology seem to be getting less restrictions. The tech giants seem no better and no more brought into legality. The Democrats and Republicans hate each other more than ever, or as much as ever, and of course this is useful to the politicians, but none seem to try to work against it. The Democratic states (particularly Cali) are directly opposing the federal government, and the Feds are directly going against them. No country seems like it's getting better or is any better. The good ones are all overrun with tourists and expats, and the governments don't control this (Japan, Spain, Thailand), since it makes them or their friends rich. They set higher and higher goals for tourist numbers. The people have no real power over decisions as always, and they seem so dangerous and uneducated (no civics class) you couldn't let them have power.

Trump is continuing to threaten big number tariffs on countries. Less effective, sure, but still seems a little effective, the threat, which is maybe why he's doing it.

June
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Elon Musk slams Trump's spending bill: Here's what to know (youtube.com)
Apparently, Trump already knows Musk's stance on the ‘pork filled’ bill.

The bill has no EV tax credits.

Becky theorized that Musk was in there doing DOGE and cutting waste (government spending) for months and now they're passing another huge government spending bill, and that's probably why he's against the bill.

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'No wonder Elon Musk is so upset': Enten on effects of the 'big, beautiful bill' (youtube.com)
Don't watch this, it's CNN total garbage, but shows that Trump, Musk, Johnson, and Thune favorable ratings among Republicans up a lot.

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California Gov. Newsom Tells Trump's Border Czar to 'Arrest Me, Let's Go' (youtube.com)
This immigration issue seems to be the first rallying point for opposition to Trump. There were reports of some ‘kids’ throwing rocks at police in the Cali protests, although that can never be trusted since half the time or more it's FBI in disguise as normal people instigating.

Newsom got to say, ‘You can attack me if you want I’m a big guy but leave the little ones alone!' paraphrasing. Lol. Politician.

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ICE carries out 'mass workplace enforcement operation': Exclusive | Bradley on the Border (youtube.com)
If the Dems are smart, and it seems they are smart only in the worst ways, they will do what maybe they are already doing. They'll turn this into an America no one wants it to be. The kind of country we've read about in books or see on the news in other lands. Where the police and military are mobilized on the side of the party(ies) and against the citizens. Where things happen by government extra-legally. Even if Trump doesn't want to do any of these things, these seems so far the best bet for the Dems to make it look at least presumably that it is, sell it, do some instigations, cause havok ala the photocopied insurrectionist handbooks I read in highschool, and take back the White House.

Funnily, if the Dems actually were in support of a non State Control state, and actually were protectors of rights and liberties, that would be one thing, but since they just look for anything that they can use to retake power, it's kind of another.

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Protests spread as Newsom warns ‘democracy is under assault’: Unbiased Updates, June 11, 2025 (youtube.com)
Will Newsom, a guy no one respects and everyone basically just jokes about, successfully pose as a hero and protector of the people?

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Musk backed off harshest criticism of Trump after call with Vance and Wiles (youtube.com)
‘I regret some of my posts about the President last week. They went too far.’

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Seattle Police Chief on Trump admin.: 'I will probably go to jail' (youtube.com)

Will the Dems just say, Well, I can't win because the Trump party is better and everyone knows it, and my party is completely flawed, so I'll just burn everything to the ground and cause chaos, because then at least I have a chance of getting power back?

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ICE Raids, LA Riots, Strong Economic Data, Politicized Fed, Iran War with Tucker Carlson (youtube.com)
Top billing was the protests/riots in Cali and now NY, Chicago, Austin, DC, etc.

Started after ICE raided a Home Depot and a fashion retailer. Protests broke out. 44 were arrested by ICE. ICE was seen ‘randomly picking people up’, ICE running into a strawberry field in Oxnard. Some Waymos were vandalized. Bricks and molotovs thrown at officers.

‘We’re going to go after the criminals. We're going to go after the gang members.' That's what Trump basically said. Now ICE is seen dragging handy men from Home Depot. Rolling up to farm, grab everybody, we'll figure it out later if their papers check out. Jcal. But Sacks said that those Home Depot workers were involved in various illegal things, including real crimes like drug gang, murder, and there were warrants for their arrests.

Wouldn't it just have been smarter to do ‘If you’re in your in. But now the border's going to be tough.' Which would make everyone in here secure, sure, bound together, and strong. But now they're tearing apart friends and families, businesses, disruption of business, etc, no one can trust anyone, the agencies like ICE and others all look really bad, mean, aggressive. Who's going to like that?

About 60% of polled Americans supported Trump's actions in Cali, with around 35% opposing it.

Tucker seemed totally on the side of Trump etc, rule of law, etc, and supported the use of military in Cali, going against Newsom, etc. Chamath seemed somewhat in favor, at least still in it enough to say words in favor. Only Jcal seemed somewhat on the other side, but even he said the National Guard should come in any time there's violence on cops (because his family is cops).

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Burka BAN Debate EXPLODES as British Patriot SHREDS Leftist Arguments on LIVE TV! (youtube.com)
Fight each other, not us. As always, the best thing for people to do would be to just say OK everyone who is here now, let's make a go and see if we can unite, and just not cause further problems (not allow further immigration for a while, or control it at least). But the citizens are like cows and super easy to manipulate. During the first part of mass immigration, they were told and repeated that speaking against immigration was basically sin, you were a racist and the worst kind of person, and now that it has followed it's obvious course, they are again fighting against each other, saying immigration is the worst and if you're pro-immigrants then you're the worst kind of person. Never against the government and never even remembering the government figures who passed the laws or led the movement.

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Here’s why Tom Mulcair thinks PM Carney 'flattered' Trump at beginning of G7 meeting (youtube.com)
Just ignore him when he talks. Cretien.

‘Dunce chair’, the chair in the White House where Trump likes to humiliate world leaders. Mulcair.

A big part of what world leaders are doing is just devoted to mediating or handling Trump. How long before they just completely tire of that?

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FBI report alleges China tried to interfere in 2020 election (youtube.com)
Lol. Whoever is unpopular with the White House at the moment.

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A tale of two Bill 5s (youtube.com)
I've said before that politicians should not be allowed to name their bills. It should be done in a fair and accurately representative way of what is in the bill. We've seen they'll do anything, try any trick, manipulate in any way they have available, to trick people into approving laws people don't want.

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youtube.com
He called out props to Bibi, to the Israeli military, and said now they've ‘gone a long way to erasing this horrible threat to Israel.’

Commenter: ‘Why say no wars, give 60 days, then 2 weeks, then strike covertly?’

Will he be calling this Biden's war?

Trump didn't look too pleased to be giving the speech maybe.

Here's some of the main reddit threads:

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old.reddit.com

Commenters:

‘And just like that America is now in another war, no vote, no congress, One man decided to start a war.’

‘Trump has just dragged US into the middle east clusterfuck. Again. What a time to be alive.’ '3 straight Republican presidents. It's kind of their thing.'

‘A Republican president dragging the US into a war in the Middle East over the supposed presence of nuclear weapons? How original’

I'm curious what they'll say on the All In Podcast next Friday. They've been saying at least this president won't ... and this president is for peace ... etc. They already were struggling to maintain their support two weeks ago after the passing of the giant mystery spending bill.

'Every minor US agency or outpost just became a target for Iran, and the USA doesn't have enough resources to protect them all. And if Fordu wasn't destroyed, and it was under a lot a lot of hard rock, then the USA just entered a war that's going to last awhile.'

'We just directly attacked state sites of a foreign country, unprovoked, and without cause.

'This really needs to be a red line for Republicans - he circumvented congressional approval, which is a truly sacred power that belongs to congress.'

‘By bypassing congress that should make it an illegal act of war.’

Reddit post: ‘Ro Khanna calls for all members of Congress to immediately return to DC and vote on his bill to strip Trump of the ability to drag America into war with Iran. What do you think they should do?’
old.reddit.com

Although you could maybe have said this about any time, maybe now the weaknesses of Republican Democracy will bring about some change in the actual form of government (not quickly, but maybe it will start).

'My father went to Desert Storm because of a conservative middle eastern war, I went to Afghanistan for a conservative middle eastern war and now they are trying to drag my son into another conservative middle eastern war.

'Another false pretense of nuclear weapons and now we may have more American deaths over the arrogance and ignorance of men who would never fight their own battles.

'I fully expect every red hat youth is excited to sign up for the war because you should be the ones on the front line for your dear leader.'

'US military analyst Mike Lyons is being interviewed on ABC Australia, and the propaganda defending the strike is extraordinary.

'He claims that it was “an act of war”, but that the “US is not at war with Iran”.'

'Some relevant legislation you might contact your representatives about supporting:

'S.J. Res. 59: Introduced in the Senate by Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.), this joint resolution aims to set limits on the President's ability to use military force against Iran.

'H.Con.Res.38 introduced by Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY)], joined by Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA): This House concurrent resolution, also known as the War Powers Resolution, directs the President to remove U.S. Armed Forces from unauthorized hostilities in Iran.

'S.2087 introduced by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT): This bill aims to prohibit the use of federal funds for military force against Iran, unless specifically authorized by Congress.'

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youtube.com
Protests gathering. With PM and former Cambodian leader. She addressed the guy as ‘uncle’ and a Cambodian politician as ‘opponent’, they reported.

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youtube.com
Because Canada did a digital services tax.

‘The way we understand and they way we’ve learned that he communicates about this stuff, it's starting to sort of fit into some sort of pattern here.'

A month ago, polymarket had Cuomo 95% and Zohran 5%. Now Zohran won the Democratic nom. Viral moments, good speaker, good at debates, tons of endorsements from GenZ, milenials, AOC. Eric Adams is getting more support (to oppose Zohran).

Zohran is a socialist. Free busses, free rent, triple development of housing, state government grocery stores, double min wage to $30, defund police.

Every time a huge debt has led to socialism when there has been a freevoting democracy, said Friedburg.

32m young americans with average $60 student debt. Negative capital cycle. The solution for them is voting. They took on that student debt on the idea that everyone should go to college and get a professional job, so student loans have to be a thing, which drives up cost of education.

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youtube.com
I'm getting so tired of posting links to StraightArrow News, because their journalism is so poorly presented, but they seem to be the only ones following the real headline threads and writing them properly.

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US House Passes Tax Bill, Sending It to Trump (youtube.com)
I think it's fair to say that we should understand now that there is nothing the Congress won't pass. There is no limit or standard. They'll just pass everything.

May
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Chamath gave the first 100 days a B+, the strengths being the tariffs and getting better deals from trade partners and also the border wall. Working on ending the war in Ukraine. Low grades for the JFk etc files we were supposed to get.

Vibe-shift from woke-ism and DEI, said Sacks, was due to Trump. Executive orders.

Re-privatization of the economy. DOGE.

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Dems outraged over Trump memecoin: Here's what to know (youtube.com)
Hawtin is spearheading the move to make it illegal for politicians to profit from memecoins, individual stocks, sector ETFs, etc.

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Meta Is Recruiting Former Pentagon Officials As It Ramps Up Military Ambitions (youtube.com)
Nothing says you've given up like letting the MIC take over your management.

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Why Palantir, Anduril are Washington's new tech favorites (youtube.com)
Why does the US government no longer need to work with Apple to gain access to spying on everyone? Is the spying deal locked into tech (iPhones, Android devices) and done, and ubiquitous, and they only need Palantir to parse it? Or is the USgov just pushing for a non-global information system (US only companies, whereas Apple is in China and other places, Meta and Google bend to comply with other governments).

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Trump Has Heated Meeting With South Africa's President Over Genocide Claims (full remarks) (youtube.com)
Looks like Bloomberg's getting in on the Forbes style of just shoot the whole meeting and show it live uncut.
SA president is of the political type. Just talks, talks, thinks saying appropriate things is enough. Trump talks about actions. Only time we got some kind of voice is when SA pres let his Agriculture minister answer.
25% Tariffs on Apple If iPhones Not US-Made, Trump Says (youtube.com)
Has the White House come to some kind of idea that this company is worthless or worse, and it's time for it to be replaced? Unfortunately, government usually replaces bad with worse, spying and bad functionality with increased spying and worse functionality.

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U.S. federal trade court strikes down Trump’s reciprocal tariffs (youtube.com)
Trump did it under the authority of economic emergency (the trade deficit).

The judges found he could only use the IEEPA for ‘unusual and extraordinary threats’ and his current tariffs weren't that.

Congress controlls tariffs, usually.

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Steve Bannon predicts a constitutional crisis by summer | Morning Edition | NPR (youtube.com)
Bannon talks about how, to defend the Suez, America has a couple battleships there, while European countries have their own smaller batteships, and how it's disproportionate, and other countries have to start picking this up as America spends on itself. Fine, but keep in mind that Trump has all this leverage currently to get countries to do things he wants, to give him better deals, because America has disproportionately distributed to other places. They have been able to just tell other countries what to do and the countries do it, because they can pull things away from those countries. It's kind of like a foating leverage, one fixed expense that allows them to make unlimited demands. With Europe, it's security. In places like Colombia, US just gave them like $500m a year or something. With China, the US was a great consumer. With Israel, it's protection. With KSA, it's power. Maybe with Mexico, it's access to a higher standard of comfort.

If the US balances trade, makes other countries self-sufficient and fully contributing partners, responsible states, the US will have much less bargaining power with them. It will become a sort of an equal partner. You could propose that US will save so much it can later offer a nice thing in exchange for a favor from these countries, but that's doubtful because generally US politicians spend every dollar they get plus go into debt, so any benefits they get from evening out trade, they will spend out, and won't have anything saved to offer these states something special, plus these states once independent and responsible won't really need special things from the US. However, it's possible that if the US spends and increases it's military, it could leverage that out.

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AI Doom vs Boom, EA Cult Returns, BBB Upside, US Steel and Golden Votes (youtube.com)
A group of people has apparently created hundreds of AI companies, basically the same content in the companies, the same people running them just with different titles, in order to try to control AI governance. The companies publish content and YouTube channels with the same messages. They do astroturfing, flooding the zone.

The group is referred to as EA (Effective Altruism, famous because of SBF).

Tied to Anthropic and Daria, Dustin Moskovitz. Tightly-would network. Reid Hastings just joined the Antropic board.

They want regulation of access to GPUs, AI safety and security, international agreements, ethical considerations. Establishing national and then international regulations of AI.

Sounds a lot like what the Biden group was doing, noted Sacks.

The group times alarmist press releases (about ex-risk) with funding rounds, it seems. Pursuing reduction of ex-risk, however, contrasts with reducing China winning AI. Scaring the population makes them cry out to the government to help them. More government and empowering government to the maximum extent, is what the people in this group believes in. Sacks noted that probably the greatest risk of AI is that governments will control populations with it, Orwellian, and it's the only one that we've seen evidence for (woke AI [black founding father image generation] from a year or two ago, being enshrined by the Biden, trying to anoint 2 or 3 winner companies). We're off that tragectory, Sacks said, becaues of Trump's re-election, but we could easily be back on that tragectory.

April
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American Water Works was up 3% on April 3.

Thailand's like, ‘If everyone’s going to negotiate, we'll be first.'

Why can't Americans have the option they want, in politics? This market downturn (and perhaps start of recession) is happening under Trump, but is caused by the irresponsible policies of Biden WH (hard to say ‘Biden’ himself because it seems unlikely he was active enough). A lot of Americans want a social liberal and fiscal conservative, but they can't pick that, they have to pick between hard left and hard right, and then emerged Trump, which is, perhaps, Democrats and some Republicans working under an Independent office wearing ‘Republican’ clothes, or at least badges. If Biden had cared about America, Americans, he would have done what was hard for him and hard for Americans, but he did what was easiest for his party and put off discipline for Americans. People are confused what to say about Trump right now, maybe he's right, maybe the risk won't play out though, but can we say he cares about America and Americans? So far, it seems like yes (although we have the perpetual caveats about human and civil rights, law, system, etc).

The 10-year did fall on April 3, but only a bit. It's still 4% when it maybe ‘should be’ 3%. Josh Brown. ‘I don’t even know which way the 10-year should go. It should probably go 100bsp, but I don't know in which way.'

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Josh Brown on Trump, Tariffs & Where Investors Go From Here (youtube.com)

International companies have their factories already in these countries, and JB was like, now they have to close down and move to the US etc. Another possibility is there develops 2 markets, one the current global market, and another one where they open factories in the US also just to sell to the US. Global products will be cheaper than if you buy them in the US.

Another thing might be calcultations. Stocks have gone up for 2 years, and have gone up for 15 years. Lots of tax revenue for the government every year. If you're going to cause a loss in stock tax revenue, it's better to have a big number in one year than a small number for 4 years, from the governments perspective. If you can depress the market and cause even more losses during your 1 year, even better perhaps, because it would mean a greater rebound and gains (even if not overall gains for investors) in year 2. Ie year 2 close is still lower than year 1 start, but it's way higher than year 1 close.

Apple CEO now has to publicly ally himself with what Trump is doing, and meanwhile not trigger the vindictiveness of his second-biggest market China.

2004-2006 energy was the biggest market. Exxon stock was the stock.

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President Trump: Tariffs give us great power to negotiate (youtube.com)

US has become a rogue player, and other countries can make a common front. Krugman.

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WATCH LIVE: President Trump Meets With Israeli PM Netanyahu In The Oval Office (youtube.com)

The ‘tyranny’ of Hamas in Gaza. Netanyahu.

Watch the normally pretty confident and in control President Trump fast talk

They did mention that Israel went 0 tariffs with USA. So now Trump can say to any other nation, Well, Israel went to 0 tariffs. That's what a good country would do.

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Trump gave himself maximum negotiating leverage, US Treasury secretary explains (youtube.com)

Recently Trump said that now would be a good time to cut rates, if he were Powell. Powell on an interview calmly said he's in no rush. They have to see what plays out. Asked, he said he wouldn't comment on anything said by any elected official.

Powell said that if both inflation goes up and unemployment goes up, they will look at both and which ever is further from their goal, and considering time and how it might come back to target, they will act on that one.

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United States in best possible position to negotiate trade, says 'Big Short' trader Steve Eisman (youtube.com)
‘Free trade is great, but GDP isn’t just a number, it's people.' Eisman said he thinks Trump is taking that view, because in the past couple decades since they started to drum into us that free trade is good, tariffs are bad, there have been benefits, but people have lost entire towns.

Eisman laughed, saying that Trump said he was going to do it, and now he's doing it, and everybody's shocked [because that's unusual for a politician].

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Tesla launches in Saudi Arabia despite country’s past feud with Musk (youtube.com)
Trump is a powerful man and he can do things.

BYD already has a dealer there.

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British Steel could be re-nationalised as MPs called to emergency debate (youtube.com)

‘What Musk has done with DOGE in the US has woken up the Europeans that Maybe we’ve gone too far with our government activism. And how the US is behaving with trade, it's resulting in Europe having no choice but to get their s*** together...' Boockvar

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El Salvador's "Dictator" Key to Disappearing Migrants Like Kilmar Abrego Garcia (youtube.com)
‘Authoritarian president’. I guess jailing people in extremely depressing conditions isn't popular with everyone.

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BREAKING NEWS: Trump Takes Multiple Questions During Oval Office Meeting With El Salvador President (youtube.com)
Trump is pretty funny with the ‘low-rated’ journalists, etc.

Bondi took the question about the illegal migrant, saying he had a couple years ago been found to be a member of MS-13 back then.

Apple Is Exempt From Trump's China Tariffs (youtube.com)

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Why the Kremlin no longer considers the Taliban terrorists | DW News (youtube.com)
Now they can have trade. The Taliban has been sending political delegations to Russia.

Reportedly, there has been trade in recent years, too, but ‘illegal’.

Russia supplies oil and food, which the 24m people in need of humanitarian aid in Afghanistan want.

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Trump-backed budget proposal puts Medicaid in focus: Bias Breakdown (youtube.com)
Fraud, ie ‘improper payments’. Democrats seem to not want this to be cut.
youtube.com
Meloni is a kind of mediator between Europe and the US. She was the only EU leader to attend the inauguration of Trump. She said she wants to ‘make the West great again, and I think we can do it together.'

Vance is visiting Rome to visit Meloni, a day after her visit.

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Bruised by Washington's chip controls, Nvidia turns to China • FRANCE 24 English (youtube.com) DW

It makes sense that the center of Europe, Germany and France, would wane in participation, since the past era was their era, forming unions and making decisions themselves, and the furthest outlyers from them (Scandanavia, England, Southern Europe) would be least interested in that, but somewhat interested, and would move towards other options when they came up. But I think it's probably likely that once they move away from the center of the EU, removing support, that center (Germany) will itself change, and then US will probalby ally with Germany preferred over Italy, since Germany is stronger and perhaps more competent.

The West is a hierarchical coalition of nations centered on the US, and if the US shifts position, it is the responsibility and the position of the EU to adapt, not the other way around. This is Meloni's idea, according to the analyst. But Italy probably can't affect US policy. She's going to try to find some common ground for Europe to meet with US, on environmental, BigTech, etc, but there will be limits to what she can do.

Too willing a cooperator is not usually a strong player, but perhaps Meloni will have a positive impact in her role?

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Rubio says that US may exit Ukraine-Russia peace talks in a matter of days (youtube.com)
Wait, publicly announcing US would weaken Ukraine didn't cause Russia to want to give up?

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Head of IRS to be replaced after Bessent objects to choice of Shapley (youtube.com)
Shapley was supported by Musk (allegedly semi-secretly).

Requests to IRS for info on people to help deport illegal immigrants. Isn't this kind of data invasion the kind of thing that actually turns people against the policy of deportations of illegals?

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Trump’s Agenda Is Shaped by Project 2025 Author, Not Elon Musk (youtube.com)
‘Last time, we had this as they see it Deep State that was thwarting them. Now let’s, now we're gonna figure out how to actually do stuff. So what they're trying to do is avoid these kind of checks of these more moderate factions within Trumpworld.'

US politics work well when there's a dominant party and a subsirvient party, and this lasts a decade or two. It doens't work when the parties are balanced, some say.

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Stocks Surge As Trump Backtracks on Powell, China (youtube.com)
‘The 10,000 tarif grandpa.’ ‘Kind know-it-all.’ ‘The nation-builder (but the nation is China.’

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China Says US Should Revoke Unilateral Tariffs, Russia Attacks Ukraine | Bloomberg The Pulse 04/24 (youtube.com)
‘Vladimir, STOP!’: Trump urges Putin to pursue peace in Ukraine (youtube.com)

Sorkin raised an interesting point. That the US is number 1, that's a given, China's fine with that, they don't love it but they're fine with it. But it's another thing when you don't just have to be number 1, you also ‘have to win.’ This seems to relate to what we're seeing in a lot of recent news. Trump's made some big plays, some ‘hardball’, but none of that seems to have been effective. US is still number 1, but it's not winning anything. And trying to win in this way, it might take away US credibility or cache.

Sorkin gave another anecdote, that for decades US companies that operated in other countries, people would be proud of working there, at a clearly American company, like ‘I work at Starbucks,’ but now these same companies are maybe downplaying their American-ness and instead trying to be like a local brand, local to that place (I think I wrote about how this is a mis-understanding of the culture in other countries, several years ago). He said he didn't know what that means but it might mean something.

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Hear Mark Carney’s message to Trump after stunning election win (youtube.com)
Canada is just a country with no political hope. No one likes any of the candidates, and most people seem to hate Carney, but he is elected (as a minority government). No one who's cool goes into politics in Canada. In school, simply no one wants to go into politics. Maybe that one kid in the school who wears suits to school every day and idolizes the PM. Eventually, some business people when they're adults go into local politics. Maybe it's different somewhat in the cities. Also, Canadians are completely docile, and will allow any leader to do anything to them he wants, including violating their rights, sending all their money to some country they don't care about, etc. They simply will never oppose any government.

It's one of those countries where you can only seeing things getting worse and worse, because no one cares enough or feels it's a possibility to oppose anything. They just complain about government, but without ever doing anything or even voicing real opposition. There are tiny groups of protesters, but they don't support them.

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Former Ford CEO Mark Fields on auto tariffs reprieve: The biggest winner is Tesla (youtube.com)
Telsa does 100% manufacturing in US. Ford does 80% (assembling). GM and Stelantis imports 50%.

Waymo is far ahead of Tesla in terms of permits (from California authorities). Tesla is going to open this in Dallas. Tesla uses cameras, not lidar which Waymo uses.

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‘Hostile and political act’: WH blasts Amazon over plan to display tariff costs for consumers (youtube.com)
If you print information (about the government, by the way), you are aggressing.

'Hostile and political' seems about a grade away from subversive, terroristic, or traitorous.

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Leaked Group Chat: How BILLIONAIRE CABAL Shaped Pro-Trump Propaganda (youtube.com)
Orignally made the groups because there was no safe space from progressives in Twitter or anywhere. But now, within the groupchats, people aren't suppotive enough of Trump for others (Sacks is featured in this story, who wants another group just for smart people because people have Trump Derangement Syndrome).

These chats really matter to the people, that they really want people who aren't of quality to not be in them, says the host.

JUST IN: Trump State Department Holds Press Briefing After Liberal Party Prevails In Canada Election (youtube.com)
Doesn't sound great.

Classifying some 6 gangs as terrorists so they can freeze their assets, bombing Houthis (another foreign terrorist organization, according to their classification), reinstated Cuba as a state sponsor of terrorism, working with Ugandans and ending the 2025 Uganda outbreak of Ebola. Causing Panama to withdraw from China. Bringing Russia and Ukraine to talks table. Working with Israel about Gaza (where Israel continues to bomb Palestinians regularly).

95% drop of illegal crossings at the border, but this was always just something that was easy to do but the politicians didn't want to.

What was with her presentation? Way friendly to reporters.

Reporters asked about Vietnam relationship, students with criminal records revoked at record number, etc. All things she said she wouldn't give answers to.

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BREAKING: Mike Waltz out as Trump's national security advisor (youtube.com)
Did Waltz add the journalist because Vance was being too independent of Trump in the chats?

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Ukraine and US agree minerals deal: What we know so far | DW News (youtube.com)

"In the grand scheme of things, I think we've been effective. Not as effective as I like ... but we've made progress," Elon Musk told reporters. BI

Economics

December
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How 50-Year Mortgages Turn Home Owners into Renters (youtube.com)
More purchases, real estate will sell more, and that industry will upturn because just more transactions, but people will pay more money to the government because just more interest payment.

Paying $1.5m for $500k loan for $500k house. $1m in interest.

The monthly payment is not much lower for the 50 year loan than the 30 year loan.

Bankocracy packaged as something ‘to help the common man.’

The asset doesn't accrue in terms of equity with a 50 as fast as a 30. Why bother making payments if you have little equity in the home? People might send their keys in to the bank more easily.

In a recession, the Central Bank will buy mortgage backed securities to further inject liquidity in house markets, artificially raising demand and thus prices for the houses on the books for the banks. Like 2008.

‘There is no truly private market for 50 year mortgages. If the administration does succeed on creating a 50 year mortgage scheme, it will depend heavily on government intervention.'

Taxpayers and holders of dollars (savings accounts) ‘will have to endure the additional price inflation from corporate bailouts that will come when those 50 year mortgages start going belly up.’

...

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CNBC says keeping devices working is bad for the economy, uses horrible fed study to support this (youtube.com)
The quieter cost of economic dynamism, improved technology, versus that of environmentalism and frugality.

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Liz Truss On Why Britain Is Broke | Bitcoin: A Competitive Advantage (youtube.com)
Britain now poorer than the poorest US state, Mississippi, she said.

Liz Truss describes the system of money printing and public spending as "essentially a Ponzi scheme" and states that the main beneficiaries of this scheme are the four million people who work for the British government

...

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Who Benefits When Washington Spends? (youtube.com)
‘When the government spends money, it does not disapper. It goes straight into the checking accounts of households.’

In 2000, Clinton balanced the budget ('government debt might disappear'), and household income reached an all time low that same year.

Business (non financial services) net income is usually around 0% net, and is often slightly negative, because its purpose is to funnel its income to its owner, ie usually wealthy households, through dividends or whatever. Improvements in this also occur when government debts increase. Government debt goes to households and to a lesser extent to businesses. There is a distinct sector within the business community (businesses that profit from lower income household spending) that benefits.

Financial sector also is near 0% net income, for the same reason, because it provides income to (mostly wealthy) households. They benefit when government spends.

US has negative income, because it does business with foreign businesses. Net trade deficit, ie the rest of the world makes more money off the US than US makes from other countries total, because US is buying foreign products. Buying foreign is increased debt in the private sector.

The government debt has steadily increased, up to now $38t (34% of GDP), but the household net worth has steadily increased and is now $180t (580% of GDP).

...

‘Last summer there was the court case where [Google] was guilty of having a monopoly and [the judge] was going to rule on what the remedies were going to be’ ... and since that
‘the judge said they were existentially threatened in their search business and so everything had changed’. Sacks still make great points sometimes. This one that OpenAI was great for Google because it was the only reason Google wasn't considered a monopoly at the time when something could actually be done about it ie when Google had just been found to have a monopoly in court and an action was able to be handed to them.

In the past couple years, people have criticized Google and said they were falling behind OpenAI and other AI companies for their products, saying Google was afraid to canabalize it's ad revenue, but maybe it was more strategic.

...

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Why the Dollar Could Drop (youtube.com)
‘All time lows in vol in China. Dollar/China lower in optionalized format is one of my favorite trades’. and ‘Some basket of EM carry’, Brazil, Mexico, and SA Rand.

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Canada records trade surplus of $153 million in September (youtube.com)

OpenAI and Disney deal. Commenters: ‘The more companies “invest” in openAI the higher chance it gets called “too big to fail” then bailed out by your tax dollars.' ... ‘Both companies are getting so desperate.’ 'Shouldn't OpenAI be paying Disney to use their IP?' ‘The same company that sued the absolute shit out of anyone that uses their IP now realizes how much slop will exist in a few years so they’re getting ahead of the curve. Honestly never expected this from a company like Disney. Massive paradigm shift.’

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old.reddit.com
Commenter: 'A breakdown of CVNA Market strategy.

'Company A buys your car for $8,000, which is worth 10,000. Company A then creates company B under new name. Company B buys the car from Company A for $15,000, showing an 80% margin. Company A stock price skyrockets. Company B then sells your car for $10,000, taking a 30% loss. Company B files for bankruptcy. Company A insiders sell billions of stock at inflated price, then take some of that money and create Company C. Rinse and fucking repeat.'

‘Where does company B get the money to buy the car for $15k?' 'Company B owns shares in Company A. Uses the shares to take out a loan.’

Commenters noted there's no way S&P doesn't know it's a scam, yet included the company in S&P anyway, raising their suspicions about S&P.

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Capital Power signs U.S. deal for Alberta data centre (youtube.com)

‘The billionaires are very visible.’

‘The politicians have for so long said ’There's nothing we can do about it.''

‘If you give to a minority [the 1%] the choice of how much they want to pay for tax [because you give them the option of just leaving for another jurisdiction when they want] ... the social contract of the postwar period' is being violated.

Whistleblower Alleges MASSIVE Medicaid Fraud Scheme, Costing Taxpayers Millions | NEWSNATION (youtube.com)

Will ‘Trump Accounts’ make U.S. kids $1 million by age 28? | About That (youtube.com)

Cannabis stocks rally on reports Pres. Trump will sign executive order reclassifying marijuana (youtube.com)

Bloomberg Money Minute: Warner Bros Discovery Rejects Paramount Bid as Tesla Hits Record (youtube.com)

November
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Canton Fair 2025 walk-through Guangzhou | Alex Reporterfy Zach (youtube.com)
All the countries are there buying things to make their businesses, but one country is missing. Americans. Not sure they can still afford to do business in China like other countries can.

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Why companies are tokenizing their stocks (youtube.com)
An alternative to the ledger system of holding and transfering stocks. The name of the company is Securitize (could they have thought of a more confusing name?).

The token simply represents the ownership of the asset, whether it is a token or another mechanism (like a ledger), he said.

Americans think everything is democratized because their investment is democratized, with Robin Hood et al, but Europeans don't have access to this type of brokerage account, necessarily, and can't transact stocks quickly like Americans can, but Europeans can do it with crypto. So tokenization would enable non Americans. Technically, these tokens are derivatives, under EU MICA admitted regulation. ‘What makes this possible now is clear regulation in the European Union.’

Europeans don't really have access to US stocks.

One of the biggest inequities in capital markets is that big companies stay private longer, in frontier industries like AI, and retail investors can't get exposure.

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Robinhood CEO: Tokenization Solves Liquidity Problem (youtube.com)

Robinhood wants to have thousands of companies tokenized so they can offer their stocks to new investors. Lots of companies want that also. But not all companies want their stocks traden in realtime 24/7. But tokenization probably can't be stopped. But it will take time for people to become comfortable with it.

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Robinhood CEO: Tokenization is going to 'eat the whole global financial system' (youtube.com)

He thinks that tokenization will lead to more entrepreneurship, more capital formation.

After 100% tokenization, will going private give the advantage?

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The Truth About AI And The Mass Layoffs (youtube.com)
Impacts mostly tech jobs or jobs servicing tech.

The on average nature of economic data.

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Andrew Ross Sorkin Explains the 1929 Financial Crash and Lessons for Today | Amanpour and Company (youtube.com)
In 2025, no one knows how much debt there really is, because it's held by private credit vehicles, not by banks.

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1929 vs 2025: Andrew Ross Sorkin on Crashes, Bubbles & Lessons Learned (youtube.com)
The regular investor was prevented or obstructed from investing, and the rich guy was allowed, not just because he was an expert, but because no one cared if he lost money. We don't want the regular guy to lose the money. Sorkin said that when he tried to warn speculators off memecoins and other things, people told him to stop because he wasn't protecting them, he was protecting the man, the rich. When there's liquidity, people want to invest it. If you invested borrowed money in 1928 you made 46% it looked great, but in 1929 it was down 17% (and people thought it might go back up), initiated by debt complications. However if you don't allow speculation (which is risk discovery, price discovery, not just measured in stock value but in effort and relationships and persuasion) nothing is innovated.

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Does OpenAI Need a Bailout? Mamdani Wins, Socialism Rising, Filibuster Nuclear Option (youtube.com)
If there is a bailout of AI companies, will Americans then see clearly the formula of wealth transfer from their labor and savings to government and elites?

Growing signs the consumer is pulling back. Chipotle, Newell, freshpet, Papa John's. The higher end consumer is still not cutting back but the lower end consumer is.

Credit card delinquincies at 2009 levels.

Regional banks rolling over. Credit spreads blowing out a bit. Still in highly restrictive territory, Fed has market tight.

75% of companies' earnings are strong, beating expectations. 11% higher than last year. So people are looking at 2026.

Spike in student loan delinquincy.

Inflation back up to 3%. Trump sold people on ‘inflation isn’t happening' but not only is it not going down, it's going up.

Chamath said ‘I don’t think that's true.' Jcal, ‘The country does.’

His criticism was that the markets have seen huge gains, benefitting stock holders, up 20% or so percent, but not the middle class.

65% of people blame the Republicans for the government shutdown.

This recent election cycle, Republicans weren't talking about affordability, and Democrats were.

White collar jobs continue steadily up, according to Sack's chart. Although chart is missing last 2 quarters.

Because Jcal presented a confrontation ‘hard to hear’ for Sacks, Sacks really seemed to be emotional and go after him. Sounded a bit like the emotionality of those offended by things in the past.

PP still going up, Sack's said. Wages continue steadily up. He said this was real wages.

Sack's said that when Trump isn't on the ballot, Republicans don't do that well. And Democrats were exciting and got the vote, Republicans were not exciting.

Sack's clearly got mad and denounced Jcal, and Chamath joined in a bit, and finally it was said. Jcal said, ‘Once again you’re trying to diminish me by saying this is virtue signalling. What I'm trying to do is balance out the fact that you two guys are captured and are no longer objective on this podcast.' Something obvious to viewers for the past 6 or 9 months since they joined up.

The top comments were all in support of Jcal. One after another comment. That's the value of podcasts, the reason All In was originally popular.

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YouTube (youtube.com)
More inflation. Inflation on the left, inflation on the right. This pushed the market up, which had been in pullback (one day down $730b), especially Tech (especially BigTech/government friend Tech), and capital markets. Energy up. Precious metals obviously up.

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Lower-Income Individuals 'Already in Recession,' Says Atwater (youtube.com)
A $2000 stimulus check, just like during the Pandemic measures, flows through the lower class to their lenders. Their lenders are able to stay more current on their books. The money moves to the upperclass who just save it. 'That's not growth.' ‘They’re a conduit'. We've hallowed out enough of the middle class that it becomes concentrated savings among the upper class.

Delta recently said they make more money from the front of the plane than the back, for the first time. Economy is very dependent on a small number of people.

NYC election, voters moved not left or right, but moved down. Progressivism. Mamdani's base has more in vommon with Trump's base than it realizes. ‘Shared dispair leads people to come together across history.’

People are used to the idea that Apple or Microsoft or whoever can move frictionlessly between environments (countries), but that's no longer the case.

Before people moved capital around to maximize the efficiency of the manufacturing process, sales process, transport. Optimized supply and sales chains. Capital and labor flowed freely between places. Now it's about local resilience.

Global corporations will be expected to carry a single passport, maybe. Abandoning other markets.

The shareholder isn't first anymore. At best, he's 3rd or 4rth. In the environment of dominant leaders.

A bubble in immorality. No shame, sense of right or wrong, anything goes cause you'll never catch the upper class. In the lower class, a sense of defeatism, rise of gambling.

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Alibaba.com plans to use tokenization in payments (youtube.com)

Some say Wall Street is funding the degredation of the US.

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How A Single Costco Changes Its Local Economy (youtube.com)
The Honolulu store, Costco's biggest, did half a billion in sales lasy year. Stores nearby close, over time wages are pushed down.

Costco breaks even, if you factor out the memberships. They pay workers higher than those workers could get otherwise without a college degree, but those workers can't increase their salaries unless they get a college degree.

Locals buy more expensive items after Costco brings in higher pay, so they don't need the budget items anymore.

Costco only maintains 4000 items (SKUs ie stock units), compared with Walmart's 140k.

Small businesses buy from Costco and resell. They use Costco's shipping.

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Why Food Stamp Spending Is Out of Control (youtube.com)
Lobbyists for ‘big food’ want more food stamps.

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Why oil could be next year’s gold | TCAF 219 (youtube.com)
A couple years ago, everyone was like Apple is losing, Apple is missing out on AI, but now it's like Maybe Apple did the right thing. Oracle and Meta were pouring into AI and were doing great, now not looking so good. Google was losing, now winning. Microsoft was winning with OpenAI deals, now maybe not.

The market is no longer rewarding people for just buying hugely expensive AI projects. It's reward discipline and finding ways to sensibly make money in new ways.

October
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Private markets have outperformed public markets and we are putting more money there: CIO (youtube.com)

AI in video games. Friedburg. Fortnight saw high churn initially because kids would start and get demolished by other kids and quit. AI customizes a pleasant experience of winning but being challenged.

Saudis bought EA or something. Saudis are aggressive with gaming purchases.

Tech, private equity (too much money going in and no returns, Chamath), live entertainment and sports, hospitality are on the saudi list of things their cities really want to do.

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A Major Disconnect is Happening in the US Stock Market (youtube.com)
Consolidation. The handful of biggest companies (large caps) just buy any small company that has any success.

Large caps projected earnings steadily increasing, other stocks steadily decreasing.

AI might push the largest companies even further up.

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Trump Brokers Gaza Peace Deal, National Guard in Chicago, OpenAI/AMD, AI Roundtripping, Gold Rally (youtube.com)
Roundtripping. Circular investing. If as long as there is demand to buy the products, it's ok?

40% of US GDP growth in 2025 is AI. AI companies accounted for 80% of stock market gains in 2025.

Gold has outpaced Bitcoin and all major indices in 2025. Silver even more than gold. USD down 8% in 2025.

Polymarket is now worth like $1.3b, up a few hundred percent since it hit the scene. Everything is becomming a market. Sports, knowledge, equities in debt instruments may become tokenized and be fungible and you can take long/short position. ‘We’ve known for 150 years that crowds know more than experts.'

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Gold prices mirror reduced purchasing power: Rule (youtube.com)
Non US central banks, Poland India China Czech are big buyers. ‘As little as they trust the US, they trust each other less.’

15 weeks ago retail jumped into gold. Partially because the rise in gold (countries buying reserves) justified the narrative for them. Partially because they've come to be concerned about the same things nations are, decrease in purchasing power. 10 year US treasury. Over the past 5 years, we've seen that the basket of goods price for Americans is rising faster than their wages and savings. CPI not measuring this accurately. Many say the real decrease in purchasing power is 7 or 8% rather than the 2 or 3% official number. ‘Real negative deposit interest rates drives people away from conventional savings products to gold’ like in the 70s.

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Why Only Three Countries Bother Building Ships Anymore (youtube.com)

China is the largest trading partner of 150 countries and US only 90. They learned from the US's mistakes.

85% of global wealth is inherited, said Shane Smith.


The $1 Trillion Tangled Web Of AI Deals Mapped Out (youtube.com)

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How Trump’s Tariffs Upended a Hub of Denim Manufacturing (youtube.com)
Lesotho ('Lesuwtuw'), 2m people, diamonds (in decline for years) and textiles. 30% unemployment. US tariffs. The president there says Lesuwtu is good in producing high quality garments for the US market. The tariffs were a ‘wake up call’, he said.

September
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Tesla Offers Musk Unprecedented $1 Trillion Pay Package (youtube.com)
Benchmark requirements he'd have to make over 10 years.

On this page

How Chinese Manufacturers Are Navigating Trump's Tariffs (youtube.com)
Mostly, Yiwu had already shifted to selling to Belt and Road countries, so maybe only 10% goes to US market, notably high end product for Target and Disney.

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Banksy’s Identity Could Be Revealed As Police Investigate New Painting | 10 News (youtube.com)
Force other countries into cryptos and gold, move the US debt (to other countries and also to US citizens through treasuries) into the cloud, then devalue it, ‘like in the 70s’. I've wondered this as well.

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Chinese businesses deal with deflation as consumers pull back (youtube.com)
Deflation inside China (meanwhile, inflation for exports to US), partially because of excess capacity within industries, everyone's offering coupons. Second hand goods selling well, once socially unacceptable. CCP trying to do price controls to keep prices from decreasing. Rent deflating also.

According to a commenter, everything is cheap in China atm, but people are out in crowds spending, the only downside being Malaysian tourists.

Commenter. 'Modern economics:
prices go up = bad
Prices go down = bad
Prices stay the same = bad'

Commenter. ‘Deflation is bad for oligarchs, but great for people.’

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Why France’s ‘Block everything’ protesters are calling for credit card boycott • FRANCE 24 (youtube.com)
To deprive banks of their commission fees. Calls to put pressure on banks have multiplied on SM. Peopledistribute educational leaflets.

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Federal Reserve cuts its key interest rate for the first time this year (youtube.com)
Stocks pretty even, up or down about a percent or two everywhere.

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The Worldcoin Scam Just Got Way Worse (youtube.com)

Netflix is no longer growing, but it is spending to retain its subscription numbers. YouTube is 10x the audience and doesn't advertise. TikTok might merge with HBO or Discovery, and you can watch all those series in TikTok.

What made YouTube (and TikTok?) so big was the long tail of user generated content, that's what built the platform. You can do the premium stuff on top of that, but if you try to do the premium right away in a big way it might not work.

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Illegal Immigration Is Ruining Countries, Says Trump (youtube.com)
Especially now that other countries besides the US will be gaining share in illegal immigration, share US is giving up.

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Trump's Crypto Scheme MUST Be Stopped (youtube.com)
‘No one cares that he is looting the treasury?’


August
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The New Yorker estimates Trump and his family have made $3.4 billion from presidency (youtube.com)
Not sure why politicians are allowed to make money from their office or moves, but there it is.

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Las Vegas tourism slumps this summer, signaling trouble for U.S. economy (youtube.com)

Regulatory unlock that's unique, providing capital, or being a buyer of companies, these 3 things, exemplified in the US government taking a 10% stake in Intel, indicate the free market has failed and the government is playing too big a role in our economy, said Friedburg this week. He said probably there's some form of socialism underway. A few years ago when I entered that point (most pronounced when the government bailed out even smaller banks, after bailing out bigger ones a few years before), everyone in the chat ridiculed me as if it were not even possible.

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Canadian businesses brace for end of duty-free U.S. shipping (youtube.com)
eBay lol. Amazon also. eBay has to add ‘import duties of up to 50% on purchases exceeding $800’.

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Growing debate over data center and costs (youtube.com)

A new way to move money from citizens to oligarchs?

July
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Tom Lee: Why Institutions Missed The Rally (youtube.com)
Tom Lee was right again (although ‘right’ is a bit qualified when you just say ‘buy’ 100% of the time). Stock market is making new highs, while Congress passes the big spending bill for Trump.

Dollar down 10% or so. Tariffs, global trade, and debt load.

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FULL INTERVIEW: Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent Discusses Trump Tariff Strategy As Letters Go Out (youtube.com)
‘We are going to see wages increase’. Lol how about, ‘We are going to create inflation.’

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Immigration Crackdown Likely to Lead to 'Startling' Labor Market Numbers, Says Edelberg (youtube.com)

Usually when government spends too much (in the past), investors would do a flight to quality, but that's not happening this time.

Gold is up, as traditional when real interest rates go down. But this time rates went up and gold also went up. Imagine if there was no bitcoin, how high gold would be. Bitcoin can be seen as a way to supress gold price, or make it appear less severe.

Foreign governments are buying gold, while still using the dollar, as if ‘We know there’s no alternative to the USD right now, but we have to start hedging because the USD looks unreliable as safety.

Everything used to go through Swift, but now China and others use other systems in addition, moving away from reliance on USD. (Partially because of US use of sanctions.)

The most predictable economic crisis in US history, say politicians who were part of the past, when there was appetite for fixing things, not just competing to see which politician can give more away, say older economists, et al.
Balance Sheet: The US Government Budget and National Debt | Global Conference 2025 (youtube.com)

How can any politician say they're going to cut social security benefits?

It could be a bapartisan solution, since neither party can promise it without the other, politically, and because neither wants it to run out, which we have a date where it will run out. ... Young people currently expect they wont' get any benefits.

Stable Coin legislation, which Congress may pass this summer, will perhaps buttress the USD somewhat.

US has a declining working age population.

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Trump signs new cryptocurrency bill GENIUS Act into law (youtube.com)

Bitcoin has been going up in recent weeks, now at $120k. For the past 3 months, all tech/comm stocks, as well as financials and industrials, have gone up a lot (since the dip caused by the news around the first tariffs).

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Stablecoin legislation will put cost pressure on the payments system, says Jan Van Eck (youtube.com)
The CC system is expensive, so everyone will use crypto to save costs, no intermediary, Uber talking about using it. This may affect brandname banks. Anyone can come into the market, there'll be a lot of superapps. Other countries, where the banking system is less trusted than the US, will perhaps flock to this alternative (if their governments don't outlaw it).

June
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Microsoft and OpenAI's slow untangling (youtube.com)
Bot are diversifying.

Maybe MSFT doesn't want to keep pouring money into OpenAI, which is still losing money.

This is the first time on MSM I've seen a real entrance of the idea that AGI or anything further along than useful but to a low point chatbots/autocompletes/database interaction, which is what AI is so far.

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Britain's rich are fleeing - and here's where they're going (youtube.com)
UAE, with tax free residence, golden visa option, attracting most relocations. KSA also starting to rise as a destination (also has an investment based residence).
142k millionaires relocating per year.

London status as global financial hub being checked?

May
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Visa and Mastercard reported encouragingly, saying the consumer was still spending, but other companies so far have reported slowing, cruises, hotels (but not trips, which seem fine according to Booking), US vehicles, financial services other than V and MC. If it weren't for V and MS, things might be said to be looking not encouraging, but there they are. Eisman. Industrials reported well also. Tech did fine, like Microsoft and Meta.

The market was down like 17% for the year after the Liberation Day tariffs were announced, but are currently down only like 3% at the start of May.

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Tom Lee: Earnings Stronger Than Expected for $GRNY Stocks: $META, $MSFT, $PWR | S&P Rises on GDP (youtube.com)

Dominos pizza was down a bit.

Betting market has a 65% chance of a recession. But there might just be pessimism from the tariffs which, depending on the binary of if deals get made or not, could be too pessimistic. Won't we ever get a recession? We were supposed to get one in 2019. Globalism has sort of changed or started closing, and there still isn't one. Populations aren't growing that fast anymore, China's economy isn't growing that fast, etc. Still there's no recession. Maybe there's just so much money around the world, it's not really possible to have the tight conditions required to set off a recession.

Maybe the aging population also causes more stability, less poverty and assets being taken away in reposessions, etc?

Apple is pivoting to India, many think.

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Bill Ackman on Howard Hughes Stake, Tariffs and Harvard (youtube.com)
How can he avoid conflicts of interests between the two funds?

At Pershing, they invest in minority stakes in large and megacaps, great businesses that sometimes have ‘lost their way' or also businesses they think are undervalued or news-scarry only. Howard Hughes will buy 100% smaller private (smallcap public also) companies (also looking for durable growth, insulated from macro). Yeah, those don't conflict at all.

Ackman, his wife, Harvard, Trump, big funds.

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old.reddit.com
Doesn't look like such a big change.

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A Weekly Wrap: Market Movements, Trade News, and Earnings Highlights (youtube.com)
Thanks, Eisman, this week there were several stories that I wanted to find out what happened, but didn't want to sit through the presentation.

Trump proposed a 39.6% tax bracket for people making $2.5m and couples making $5m.

Also eliminate the carry interest tax break VC and private equity managers claim. That they should pay income tax instead of capital gains. But it's been proposed many times.

Fed held rates steady.

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Real estate: Median list price for new homes fell (youtube.com)

So the stock market is basically at highs. Nvidia, Tesla, etc, all back up (not to highs but up pretty much). Basically reacting to trade deals with Canada, then China and SArabia. Reacting to news.

Also, guessable, there's just so much liquidity everywhere, and it's not invested, so that's money that came in a bit. It's hard to be against the market. The market has so many investors.

Looks like maybe Gundlach and Boockvar won't get it right maybe, yet again. And Tom Lee, who seemed a bit humble a couple weeks ago on continued losses (continued for a couple weeks only), but appeared on TV the other day and looked like he was totally right, again.

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McCullough: Moody’s Downgrade Is Just ‘Macro Tourist Clickbait’ (youtube.com)

Under Trump 1.0, average tariffs increased from 2% to 3%. Recently, even with deals, average tariffs have gone from 3% to 18%. Companies aren't giving forward guidance. Ford losses $1.5b, Apple $900m.

Inflation up, GDP growth down.

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President Trump holds meme coin dinner (youtube.com)
$150m.

In the 1930s Roosevelt tried to take gold out of the US equasion. Now Shanghai is the epicenter of gold, it sets the prices, and central banks are buying gold again.

If the US made it easier to buy gold, just issue gold coins, it would serve Americans as an education in inflation, and would curb Congress spending. ‘That’s where spending comes from', the fiscal authority in the US. Chris Whalen.

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Bank of Nova Scotia misses Q2 EPS expectation (youtube.com)

TD Canada fired like 2% (thousands of people) of it's work force this week, reportedly.

Another bank (UK I think) cut dozens of analysts.

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Elon Musk tried to block Sam Altman's big AI deal in the UAE (youtube.com)
One of the many people that have cred that dislike Altman.

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RBC misses Q2 estimates and prepares for souring loans (youtube.com)

Elf brand bought Haily Beiber's cosmetic brand (first I'd ever heard of it) for $1b.

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Inflation rate slipped to 2.1% in April, lower than expected, Fed’s preferred gauge shows (youtube.com)

Nike had pulled out of selling on Amazon a while ago, but it just went back to being on Amazon again. Ambercrombie and Sacks 5th are also on Amazon.

April, Liberation Day month
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April 4, the market went down as much as April 3, and even BRKB went down 5.5%, which had not really been affected on April 3. Utilities on April 3 were green, but April 4 were down 2 or 3%. GLD had been down only about a percent or something April 3, but April 4 was down 3%. WTI down 7% on the 4th. NatGas only down 1%. On the 4th, USD was flat. European markets were down 3 to 7 % on April 4.

JMP said retail investors bought the largest level of stocks in 10 years, almost $5b, on April 3. Retailers saw opportunity. Robinhood average age of their retail traders is like 30.

No one knows what the market will do. I had gone to treasury etfs a month before, but had started shorting and buying just a bit, and on April3 at around noon it had started to stabilize it looked like so I had bought a bit attempting to make 3 or 4 % before it slowly went down again, but it didn't recover. I lost about 1 or 2% of that smallish trade when I sold before the close, and it continued down another percent or two before close.

China will impose additional 34% tariffs on US goods starting April 10. Chinese finance ministry. Will China drive other countries business to them?

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Countries might ‘play Chicken’ with the US over tariffs, because to them it may look like there's ‘no way’ US will stick to these tariffs, and that US will keep trying for factories in 3 years.

US might just stick with the 10%. They seem to like it and the revenue from it.

1930 Senate passed Smoot-Holley tariff. People have been talking about that for a few days. Never heard of it before talked about by CNBC et al.

May rate cut back on the table, if no dramatic reversal on tariffs. Siegel.

Trade deficit might be lowered a bit because of this. But that will add to inflation.

Josh Brown's hedgefund or whatever went from 100% equities to 60 (or 40) % bonds on Monday (before Thursday, April 3). However, he said, in an interview, that he thought it was more likely sell the rip than buy the dip, he saw more selling likely.

There has been headlines about a 60/40.

Recession odds are between 30% (Goldman) to 60% (JPM) now, according to analysts and banks.

The economy is still solid. So if policies changed again or changed back, the course could be maintained.

Recession destroys a lot of nonfunctioning companies though.

June of 2022 was apparently as heavy losses a week.

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Oaktree's Howard Marks on Credit Yields, Trump's Tariffs (youtube.com)
Italian watches and Swiss pasta.

Stocks have delivered an average of 10% a year for 100 years, but not when the PE ratio is 19. When the PE is 16 the return is 10%. When it's 19, you made maybe 1-6%. Howard Marks. The S&P is at historic levels (valuations) so you shouldn't expect historic returns.

When people enter the market this time, it will maybe just be a guess, because no one knows what the economy will be in the next 4 years for any year because tariffs are uncertain, not even Trump knows probably. That means those who win will be just some of the people who guessed, but still there is one thing to look at which is valuations.

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Another thing about throwing high tariffs on countries is those countries now will show their hands. They'll tell the US what they have and how much they value it. US can just guess and make a big number, but they might give actually valuable information to the US in their response. US companies, it has been noted, will also likely to to Trump and offer him deals and things.

Bilateral negotiations with 180 countries.

No one is even talking about semis or AI. It's been that way for months. Before AI, they talked about the amazing best company ever Apple and how no one saw that company ever decreasing, maybe just sales slowing a bit.

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Macro Matters: Europe 'needs private investment' for defense | REUTERS (youtube.com)

Fed's challenges are at odds with each other. If tariffs cause inflation (not just a one-time increase), the Fed usually would raise rates. But if there's a recession or layoffs or slowdown, the Fed usually would cut rates.

Nintendo Switch preorders will be delayed, ‘to assess the potential impact of tariffs and evolving market conditions. The launch date of June 5... is unchanged.’

Tariffs raise prices, but they could also be deflationary if demand falls. Then the producer has to cut their prices to meet demand. If prices fall that's stagnating demand.

Some things have been 'on sale' recently.

People might like to just not see prices go up.

I heard a figure like $600m or something for one of those days, losses in the market. If people sell, it would be possible to manipulate a loss of let's say $2t, which would, combined with $2t in DOGE savings and $2t in Lutnick deals, improve actual GDP, reduce liquidity (inflation), and reduce debt.

From the new lower point, they could sell some notes and maybe have stronger buying.

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The banking class has basically become what that ‘landholding class’ was, which Adam Smith and others wrote against.

Australian land prices increased by $765b in 2024. Banking profits $40b. Landowners still make a lot.

Reagan read a little speech again tariffs, especially against tariffs that last more than a short period of time, which they played on the All-in pod this week. Friedburg listed 3 problems with tariffs, being 1. traditional assembly line in US can undersell a modern tech assembly in China, so US doesn't have an incentive to innovate, ie lack of the incentives that make a traditonal free market system thrive, 2. near term loss of revenue for US businesses, so government has to issue support payments to US producers (like US farmers during Trump1.0, especially if tariffs last and global markets stop buying US exports, 3. China had a state council meeting and talked about disregarding IP rights of holders everywhere, so with their lower wages and costs they could just take IP and sell it everywhere, even for things like MS Word. They can sell at 10% of the price to all the countries the US has tariffs on.

China is also developing modern chips, and they have the minerals, the factories, and the software. The chip manufacturing base could move from Taiwan to China.

‘The long of the curve is giving us a respite in a storm.' Chamath.

Wall Street smart money thought this was a $250b event (April3). It was actually a $750b - $1t event. It creates the risk of a recession, which risk is decreased by the Fed pricing the front end of the curve, and how easy it is to borrow. Bessent is financing $6t in the back end, and if Powell cuts the front end, they could introduce liquidity in a moment when small and midsize businesses can borrow to weather this period.

Lots of companies have a 15% operating margin.

Bessent said he wants to dereg so banks can issue more credit to businesses, add liquidity that way. They want the capital to flow into building businesses and creating employment though.

Chamath gave an anecdote, his friend operates a $100yo US company, and they've done ‘everything possible to maintain their business in America’, hiring Americans etc, but the tariffs may swing their balance sheet from profitable to a significant ($100b) loss. And that's the kind of company that ‘should be winning.’

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As Trump's tariff fallout grows, what’s behind the sharp sell-off in Asia markets? | DW News (youtube.com)
HangSeng down 13%, German market down 10% for a while (but rose a bit).

Asia will see a flood of Chinese goods (which aren't bound for the US anymore). So will Europe, so Europe might put tariffs on Chinese goods to try to keep them from coming to Europe and undercutting European goods.

Singapore's highest profit margins are selling to the US. If Singapore cuts off trade to the US, it will loses global market share to China.

China imports a lot of goods, especially agricultural, from the US. Soy beans, pork. Those US farmers are concerned, and about losing market share longterm, like to Brazil.

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Vietnam. ‘We’ll go to 0 tariffs.' But they ship $15 to US for every $1 US ships to them. And a large part of theirs is Chinese goods transhipped to avoid tariffs. They do IP theft, like China.

US could face a debt downgrade. The debt ceiling might not get raised, becaues Democrats and some Republicans. Some Republicans are increasingly voting with Democrats versus emergency tariffs.

The bond market is saying the economy is going to weaken more and dominate the initial inflation shock we're gonna see from the tariff increases. There's no ability to pass on price shocks from the tariffs, because of a weakening economy. Rosenberg.

No one thinks there'll be a recssion, partly because the 2020-2021 recession didn't happen, because of Biden liquidity and AI bubble.

A recession impairs both earnings and the multiple.

For the bulls, what could cause them to become more bearish are continued treacherous behaviour longer than a month, earnings delerate more dramatically than they expect, and uptick in inflation.

Stock market down, now $7t from highs (of a month or two ago), Monday the 7th. But although it opened red, following the selloff in world markets (mentioned above), by close the favorites of the past couple years were green. I mean chips, Nvida, Amazon, Meta, Goog, JPM and big banks, Palantir, AT&T, and also renewable energy was green. Apple was very red though, Tesla was -10% and closed -3%.

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Jeffrey Gundlach on Tariffs and Market Volatility (youtube.com)
People seem to be deleveraging in bond market. They're selling what appears to be the least losses. Lower risk stuff isn't really trading. If they sell all the low stuff and still have to raise cash, they will have to start selling the more secure stuff.

Oil below $60, first time since 2021. Market's oversupplied. Trump reportedly wants to go down to $50-55, which is below the economics of the Permian, and could cause some real issues for producers.

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Shopify CEO: Staffers need to prove jobs can't be done by AI before asking for more resources (youtube.com)

Bessent on CNBC said that China because it exports several X to the US what it imports, that is ‘a losing hand’ for them. When people take tariffs seriously in this way, it seems, producing and exporting to globalism isn't the benefit it was once thought.

'We can see from these huge surpluses... over the years, that has to tell us that there are imbalances. Now, whether those imbalances are from the actual tariff, or non-tariff barriers, currency manipulation, or the state-favored funding, it's very difficult to disentangle, but those surpluses tell me that there is a big imbalance...' Bessent.

Bessent said that getting the tariffs (or 0 tariff) set for each country quickly would give US businesses and citizens a lot of certainty.

USD seems to be devaluing. Euro has been the strongest.

Weakening dollar can increase inflation, moreso when combined with tariffs.

India has done well in exporting services, but not so well in exporting manufactured goods. India exports rice, poultry. Un-genetically modified foods.

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Apple planning to blunt impact of China tariffs by importing more Indian-made phones to U.S.: Report (youtube.com)

A lot of the retail investors (their average age is like 30 on RobinHood) have never seen a bear market. They've only learned to buy every dip.

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Big Short Team talk Market Turmoil, Tariffs, and Lessons from the Financial Crisis (youtube.com)
Trump has a view, to change things, and how do you get them to change. You're not going to get them to change by just sitting in a room and saying please change. His math or stated policy doesn't have to make sense. His goal is to reduce trade barriers all over the world, so US can export more, and to reshore, you do something dramatic. Draconian tax globe, US first, then China and maybe others.

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China Is Only Country Escalating on Trade, Says Treasury Secretary Bessent (youtube.com)
A reddit commenter: 'As a Chinese, I would say that some country has to stand up and stop the current US.

That's why China is known as one of only two superpowers in the world.'

Indeed, LinkUp job openings from 10k largest US employers seem to be declining.

Levered unwinds, popular basis trade XLR relief would come on board and people loaded up (long treasuries short futures).

Broad-based selling, exiting US bonds, exiting USD, maybe buyers strike. Need to hold US tresuries maybe less (if you reduce trade).

Not just US selling off. Canada, Aus, NZ, UK also. But not Europe. No one knows why or who's selling.

Chinese aren't selling to retaliate or punish, analysts think.

But Amazon cancelled some inventory orders from China. That's money that would have been sent to China an then recycled back into the US bond market. That story will be repeated hundreds of times over the next couple months if the trade war continues.

A trade deficit comes back into the US, because foreigners buy US treasuries. US consumes more than it saves, so US needs foreign dollars to plug US holes when it comes to deficits.

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Inflation rate falls to 2.4% in March, lower than expected (youtube.com)

ETF Edge: Flight to bonds (youtube.com)
Less international trade (denominated in USD mostly), you need less US treasuries being held.

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U.S. tariffs on China now total 145% after latest hike (youtube.com)

Some of the aversion to US bonds isn't just the price or the market, but the volatility. It's supposed to be a safe asset but the other day it moved a historic 60bsp.

There are options. Europe is going to do a new issuance, German Bunds. Japan has raised rates slowly after keeping them low forever.

45bsp swing in 3 days, most since 2022.

US is largest producer and exporter of oil, China is the largest importer.

‘Inflation stag.’

6.7% inflation, highest since 1981 (following 5% year before). Survey, not hard data.
Consumer sentiment surprises to downside (youtube.com)

4 years of inflation, still elevated now. So a tariff that might otherwise make a shortterm elevation in price, might in this inflation environment contribute to systemic inflation where it otherwise (if we were 2% inflation) wouldn't.

Mortgage prices up.

Chinese are big owners of mortgage-backed securities.

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Jim Bianco joins CNBC to explain what’s going on in the Bond Market (youtube.com)
Bond market reacting to inflation.

No one controls the bond market, not the Fed, not the Treasury. You have to enact policies that the bond market will like. Policies that bring down inflation, provide non-govenrment growth, and make dollar more of a safe haven.

It's possible CCP is manipulating their currency to keep Yuan from freefall. China owns hundreds of billions of US treasuries.

Most bond selling is from outside US trading hours.

Government might have to recalibrate how it sells debt. Bessent wants to do more in longterm, he said, but if the price of longterm borrowing keeps going up, he might have to borrow more shortterm than he would like.

At this point, if there was an economic crisis, could the government even bail out the banks (or whoever was Too Big To)? Everyone has for a decade assumed that would be the result of every cash shortage anywhere, but if the government is at the point where any further debt would potentially cause it to have a borrowing crisis, it might not be able to. In other words, as I wrote about years ago, the government (socialism) is the same as the banks now, and if there's a crisis, it is an unsolveable crisis because there is no separate entity the government. It would be a different kind of historic event (not just economic).

Policy being stable, the economic environment being stable has declined, the idea of being able to work things out has declined. Dalio. ‘Trust is the most important thing in all the capital markets. That's a source of great concern. It takes a very long time to build a reputation that the capital markets are free, safe, there's reasonableness and a way of working things out collectively that's not damaging. ... It only takes one time to lose that reputation. It takes a long time to get it back.' Negotiations and beyond negotiations, less volatility, just the idea that the capital markets won't lock up.

The world now needs China to be a consumer (not just a producer). Dalio. Then you would have increased monetary and fiscal policies to raies demand, particularly consumption, becaues exports, manufacturing are going to go down. If China raises consumption and US becomes less consumptive...

There are times when there is a question if bonds are an effective storehold of wealth (ie money), because of supplydemand. Then the need for what the Central Bank does, pushing down rates, providing liquidity. What is a good storehold of wealth?

The real VIX is gold. How high is high, I don't know. People are in buy and hold strategy, just like they used to be with stocks. That changes how they trade. Gold's down $100 (it's currently $3200), no one cares, they're not selling. It's being held by banks and things.

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Trump Wants a Sovereign Wealth Fund: Can the US Pull it Off? (youtube.com)
Let the corrupt abuse and government debt begin again under this new umbrella.

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Art of War Meets Art of The Deal (Guest: Peter Boockvar) (youtube.com)
Last 3 years, US economy has been propped up by three things. Upper income spending, government spending, AI spending. Working class has been in their own little recession. Tech spending x AI has been shrinking (on a sequential basis it would very hard to sustain anyway). Spending in general fairly flat. Housing market has been basically frozen. Manufacturing recession. Global trade very muted.

Mag7 is held by foreign investment managers, Swiss naitonal bank, Norgess Bank (324m shares of Nvidia). Deep Seek.

Stocks, bonds, and USD all went down at the same time this week, never seen before in the US. Seen only in EM normally.

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Semiconductors from China will face a ‘special-focus type of tariff’: Lutnick (youtube.com)

Hang Seng has outperformed S&P since beginning of 2024 because that market got dirt cheap. The AI trend that ended in US shifted to China.

The returns might not be made in the US for a period, they might be made elsewhere. Canada, Australia, Brazil, natural resource economies, could well-outperform the US. Commodities.

Commodities, you buy when the cycles down, you sell when the cycle's up. Crops can change year by year, because you have a season every year, or in Brazil two seasons or whatever, but minerals you can't just bring them on every year, you need investment, and you can have periods of 10 years of gains.

Gold is the most important reserve asset right now, not treasuries or USD. Silver half the time trades like gold (othertimes it's an industrial).

Major producers of platinum are Russia, SAfrica and Zimbabwe. It's 50% below it's 2011 peak.

US has lost $9t since Feb19 on stocks, but hasn't made basically anything on the bond side. ... When Lehman went down people lost $8t in stocks but made $3.5t in bonds, and when Covid hit, lost $9t on stocks but made $4.5 on bonds. ... When Lehman went down, the fiscal and monetary response was $4t. When Covid happened in 2020 and there was a regional bank crisis and then elections, fiscal spending in Washington, they spent $16t.

Yellen issued tons of Tbills, placed bond volatility not in the election issue but pushed out to 2025 2026 placing bond volatility in the hands of the republicans. Bissent has to go sell these bonds, not a great spot, he has to try to calm things down.

Trust not where it was, in the bond market. US borrowing a lot in the front, finding ways to fund it through pounding taxation throughout the globe. ... For 30 years, funds have just allocated in the US, buy more and more in US. Now they just have to take it down, maybe to where it was 10 years earlier, ie at least $1t.

If China hints they'll dump US bonds others will try to frontrun.

Will taxation control be taken away from White House? White House is just trying to undo 40 years of unruly spending, and no manufacturing base anymore (hallowed out) in the US. They're trying to do it in 4 years, and keep the effects as much as they can away from midterms.

Last 10 years was 60/40, and of that 60 stocks a lot was BigCap tech, growth. Maybe moving to a 30/30/40, commodities, bonds, stocks. More value, growth.

Copper to rebuilt LA, Ukraine, Gaza.

Usually, treasury yields up, it means people will invest more (capital inflows), which boosts the USD. Not this time. Investors beginning to shun dollar-based assets and questioning US as global bedrock of funds. This is just a possible emergent pattern, not an abandonment. Treasury usually holds $500 to $800b in cash, a buffer, but that had gone to 0 and had to quickly be propped up.

Treasury usually does regular, predictable issuance, it doesn't try to play the market and just issue when they need money.

China probably wouldn't sell USD becuase that would push up the value of their Yuan and creating risks to treasury market and global security which would harm them. Yellen.

US creating opportunity for China to work with US allies like Japan, because US seems more isolated and untrustworthy.

A jump in inflation expectations. Tariffs might mean increase in $4000 per household.

A redditor said on the maybe 9% decrease in value of USD, ‘Shows how dangerous it is to go your portfolio in full cash. Once they turn the money printer on to deal with Trumps mess, we are going to see markets rise. But not necessarily your purchasing power rise. At the end of the day you want to own as many assets as possible.’

Another said ‘Yeah i hold quite some dollars and my account is displayed in euro. It just dropped 4% overnight without any stock movements.’

Bitcoin tracks BigTech stock holders. Frothy or tight for the individuals. Does gold track its holders?

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Chief Economist: Reducing U.S.' trade deficit may threaten the dollar's reserve currency status (youtube.com)
Congress to increase debt deficits, probably.

No one can raise or lower the value of gold.

We've seen people cause fluctuations with Bitcoin, and of course it is subject to laws. Well, so is gold to some degree but not internationally.

BAC beat, yOy 18% increase in gap earnings, growth in net interest income and fee income, sales and trading delivered 12th consecutive quarter of yOy growth. Revenues from equities trading, increased vol led to higher transactions.

Consumer credit quality is declining, analyst said.

Lots of people commenting on the long-term debt story, and guessing maybe more selling later in the year, but asserting everything is fine in bills. What happens if something happens to the strength of bills though?

Questions about frontloading.

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Central banks should focus on liquidity distress in markets: Allianz chief economic advisor (youtube.com)
For a long time debt was so cheap that the correct thing for a company was to change the capital structure by putting on more debt. ‘So we have a massive overlay of BBB- (lowest investment grade) that are hanging over the high yield market.’ Economic slowdown will cause downgrades, so they will be coming into the high yield category (junk). This disrupts primary issuance, refinancing debt, so there will be an opportunity there, in very focuessed refinancing.

El-Erian advised that the central banks don't just pump liquidity (blunt intstrument) but focus on where there is lack of liquidity distress.

Many years of narrowing stock choices, the Mag7, outperforming all hedgefunds, outperforming the market, teaches people to just but that, setting these stocks up to have high multiples and then at some point underperform (this year, they're underperforming market). Gundlach. Groupthink, Herding.

He also noted on groupthink that if a company cuts their dividend it's all kinds of headlines, first time in decades. But if everyone's doing it, no one thinks anything of the same company doing the same thing.

For decades, overseas investors have invested trillions in the US.

Now, Europe is outperforming. It had been a valuation trap, cheap but getting cheaper, relative to US.

Equal weight is outperforming marketcap weight.

Growth veruss value less convincing on the charts.

In 2020 2021 interest rates bottomed, and since it has been a secularly rising interest rate market.

Sometimes experience can be a hindrance, Gundlach said, because what you think you know is true only to a regime which might change. 4 years in the market, you buy all dips. 40 years in the market, recession means strengthening dollar.

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Poor People Are Starting Lots of New Businesses... It's Destroying The Economy (youtube.com)
Low-income states. Some just relocating. Correlated with job destruction, not new jobs. No experience, no startup cash. Second or third job.

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President Trump: Fed Chair Powell's termination cannot come fast enough (youtube.com)
Powell is ‘always too late and wrong', the president posted on TS.

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She's fine moving into lower quality because those companies are very well positioned moving into this.

Turkey hiked rates to 46%.

US is the largest exporter of services, and they don't even measure them. They're talking a lot about trade deficits in goods.

Powell in his recent press conference said the public would see inflation from tariffs, basiscally putting blame on tariffs and not giving any possibility that there would be good outcomes from tariffs, even the chance of their good results or purposes, people noted.

Powell opined that the bond movement was merely deleveraging by hedgefunds.

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Ghana bans foreigners from its gold trading market • FRANCE 24 English (youtube.com)
In favor of government monopoly.

Corporations can't offer guidance right now, and when this has happened before, analysts typically play it safe and downgrade a bit, just naturally or habitually. So downgrades may happen but not substantiated.

Netflix can offer guidance. It's not taking any hit or downgrade. Still growing it's ad revenue. Has free (ads) and paid versions, and reportedly make more on free version. They spend a lot on content.

They don't provide sub numbers anymore, possibly because they're not growing.

Stong Malaysia currency, strong Indonesia currency, strong Euro? Eastern European (they manufacture everything Europe consumers) countires are up while USD is down 8% since start of Q1. Nordics too, Sweden an oil producer.

Trump might be trying to temporarily weaken the dollar because of the debt.

WTO, hallowing out of heavy industry, manufacturing, construction.

65% don't have a college degree in the US. Don't bother me, go learn to code (Hows that working out for you?). Romney? Biden. Go make solar panels.

Regulatory arbitrage, China ships parts to Mexico and assembles them there to avoid US tariffs on China.

Paying for their own military means Europe will have to re-industrialize. This might be stimulative to their market (which is up, while US's is down).

1920's Radio Corporation of America was the hot stock, because ‘Everyone’s going to get a radio.' But it peaked in 1929, and only took out it's 1929 high in the 60s. Not only did everyone get a radio but a black and white TV too, and were getting color TVs, when it peaked again. Bianco.

1974 Nifty Fifty peak, ITT, Zerox, Kodak made highs. Went out of business, aquired by somebody else. But what they promised (Xerox in every office) did happen. Just that it was priced in and then the stock kept going (overpriced). It priced in the whole generation.

Electricy revolution in 1911 was just getting started, but it was already discounted, apparently, then, because that was the last time it outperformed the broader market. A century was priced in.

Herding behaviour. 7 stocks drive. Indexing becomes popular. The index outperforms most active managers, because managers don't want 45% of their portfolio in just 7 high PE stocks.

Secularly (broadly) declining interest rates, for the entire career of everyone (almost) working in finance.

‘Financial distress in a time when you can’t refinance.'

1000 people go to work every day whose only job is to regulate JP Morgan (their company). Bianco. Apollo has zero, so their cost basis is way scewed, and they can have lower rates, that's why private credit works, ‘I can beat anything JP Morgan offers you’, but then everyone jumps in and you can't easily get top credit in private credit, you have to go to second-best and third-best.

Why do companies IPO in 2025? They think they've already wrung out all the valuation and they want to stick in on everybody else. ‘Here you buy it at the inflated price.’ Bianco.

Private credits, everyone will be calling in their credits at the same time and borrowers will not even have money to invest in a great deal.

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Huawei readies AI chip for China, Nvidia shares drop | REUTERS (youtube.com)
Well, the whole market was red. ‘Chinese companies have been scrambling to find a [Nvidia chip] replacement.’

‘The sell America trade.’

Monday, Apr 21, whole stock market was red, with headlines talking about how Trump wants to fire Powell, although not sure that was the reason for the red. However, while the entire tech sector was red, Bitcoin was up 2.5%, a bit higher than recent highs. You might suspect that some big player is buying this, like Microstrategy again, because does it seem likely retailers or investers who are losing money on Tech would be buying? Also, the USD is down. Gold was a little up, and it is at highs.

Powell saying they can't really act right now, because inflation says hike and falling GDP says cut.

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Most investors have little to no gold in their portfolio.

There might be a movement to remonetize gold.

We don't know what the next bull market will look like. The tariffs change every day.

70% of products sold on Amazon are sourced from China. What happens in a couple months when the inventory is empty?

Volker raised rates even while economy was going into recession. You don't cut rates, if you're the Fed, since that.

65% of trade in Europe is with Europe. They'll focus on prices, and services, said Lagarde at CNBC.

There's a lot of saving in Europe, Germany, so when they go to do military and infrastructure, they have money for that.

Lagarde said (for Europe) definitely reduced growth, in Europe and elsewhere, but inflation she wasn't sure because if US goods decrease, China goods might increase. China will have oversupply of goods.

Why doesn't Europe have a chatGPD or Apple or Meta? There wasn't focus on productivity, and also the ecosystem so vibrant in the US (equity, venture, university innovation) are conditions that can be replicated so maybe they can do that.

Europe is the first trading partner with 72 countries. They're going to activate those trading relationships.

When the dust settles, people are going to look around for where they'll get the best return on their money, and that likely will be the US.

Gold might be in a ‘frenzy zone.’

Trends for Mag7 are bearish. Some sellers 'frenzy' in Nvidia. Change in way of thinking about semis, from being defensive so buying semis, to now people trying to profit on the downside.

‘To keep longer-term inflation expectations well anchored.’

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This guy seemed like he was just wrong for years. Now maybe he's talking about the right thing. (Eurodollar University.)

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Ad spending shifts amid tariffs: Here's what to know (youtube.com)
'Buy now before prices increse.' Sell through existing inventory.

8% of all ads in US are for automobiles.

Ads touting discounts, others touting American heritage.

Travel and tourism also pushing for now.

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We're getting close to a technical confirmation of a bottom, says 3Fourteen Research's Warren Pies (youtube.com)

There is no alternative to the US for investing capital. Same as decades ago. Not China, not India, not Europe, not any of the other countries. Too much regulation, hoops, unreliability. All-in.

That's part of the reason US products aren't sold in other countries, or that US businesses don't operate there. It's not just that they can't afford US products. US companies can't open shop there. They would, assumably.

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Home prices starting to crack: Here's why (youtube.com)

New homes and used homes both have an average cost of $400k.

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youtube.com
They buy 5-10 bars per day (for $3000) and sell 1 for every 6 they buy. ‘A lot of people are selling right now.’


Domino's Pizza US sales dip as economic uncertainty hurts demand | REUTERS (youtube.com)


UPS to Cut 20,000 Jobs in Pullback From Amazon (youtube.com)
Revenue quality, taking share from small to midsize shippers.

Higher margin packages.

They'll still do returns from Amazon, because that's a good business for them.

Their customers are driven by economic activity.

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US economy shrinks as companies race to get ahead of Trump tariffs | BBC News (youtube.com)

The metric to look at is ‘final demand’, said Leisman. 6 months before anyone, even the Fed, knows what's going on, he said.

Technology

December
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Is GPT-5.1 Really an Upgrade? But Models Can Auto-Hack Govts, so … there’s that (youtube.com)
‘The operational infrastructure relied overwhelmingly on open source penetration testing tools rather than custom malware development. Standard security utilities including network scanners, database exploitation frameworks, password crackers, and binary analysis suites comprised the core technical toolkit’

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The Rise of the Indie Web Movement (youtube.com)
Webrings, guestbooks, the kind of freedom and customization most of the internet doesn't allow anymore.

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Good Technology vs. Bad Technology (youtube.com)
Tech we use is already built for a person to use when they're alone. But the tech those companies are developing, like AI glasses, etc, only makes sense in a consumer environment where people are more alone, 'because that is the only environment where it feels ok to use voice commands with your phone... wearing AR glasses or an Apple Vision Pro.

People all already freeze up a bit when they're in public, because we're all aware we don't want to be in someone's stupid viral video. People don't dance in clubs as much. These companies want to see you a computer you wear on your face that is recording people around you 24 7.

Tech people like Thiel, 0 to 1, moonshot, you get there first and you get all the rewards, and no one else can take part in it, different from iterative goals like house building where everyone can make improvements. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dpjjvph2nO8 When they fail, they take everyone else down with them.

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Your Browser Is Exposing You — Even Over HTTPS. Here's the Proof (XRAY , ShadowSocks) (youtube.com)

AI is not addictive or engaging like SM, for kids. They find it more a useful tool, but they're not being hooked on it.

Huawei might have lithography machines soon. AI driven systems? ASML's 2 to 3 nm chips are maybe the US's biggest advantage in the AI race. There's only one company that makes these machines. DUV lithography also China pushed further than was thought likely, down to like 7nm, and these are comparable but use more power than the EUV. ('Deep' versus ‘extreme’.) ... China's lithography tech isn't just a copy, probably, but seems to be finding other ways to do the same thing, and get primacy. ... US also has compiler and software advantage so far.

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How AP photographers capture infrared technology used in surveillance (youtube.com)
The camera on the phone that uses infrared, it shoots out thousands of beams of infrared light all the time, they say, to map your face, but we don't see any of that.

November
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LAWYER: How to Stop Cops From Using This NEW Tech to Spy on You (youtube.com)

Durov, in Dubai, is working on a confidential compute open network that runs on the Ton network. People plug their GPU into the network and are paid in Toncoin when people use their GPU. P2P network for computation. ‘To reverse the erosion of digital freedoms over the past 2 decades.’

Alfon Capital pledged heavy investment to power it.

Durov is also planning a Telegram AI lab in Kazakhstan.

#Durov

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Anti-facial recognition glasses and Sycophantic A.I. | Here's some top stories in the science world (youtube.com)
Glasses companies see an opportunity to make a product that takes away the ability of these devices to recognize you, and it is a selling point.

IR blockers, because when you hold your phone to your face it uses an IR camera.

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Face Scan Clearance At More HK-Mainland Ports | HOY International Business Channel (youtube.com)

Current SAAS and AI. ‘All of this stuff is trying to sell me speed. I don’t want speed, I want quality.'

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The Insane Geometry Of Your Clothes (youtube.com)
'Only machines can do this.'

‘Flexible materials are very rare in nature. You have leather, but that’s about it. The next thing is something like leaves or bark are very limited in their use cases. But fibers are very easy to find (cotton, wool).

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NEW REPORT: The Future of the Internet (youtube.com)
Decentralized identification schemes.

Mandate by proxy. It gives the government plausible deniability. Private companies ‘are free to do so or not do so.’

The digital ID 'won't be forced on you' just like Covid19 vaccine passports ‘were never forced on you', but through jobs or the hospital or travel it was mandatory there.

What would digitalID be if criminals could spoof it?

Google, normal google phones can't run private apps, or apps that haven't given everything to Google, complete control over the app.

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Dashlane CEO ‘Passwords are the Achilles Heel of Digital Security’ (youtube.com)
No, they're not. Passwords are the only means of privately protecting confidential information (like your bank). Biometrics, once hacked, you can imagine the difficulty trying to straighten that all out, and how would you ever be secure again after it?

A strong password on your end, on the end of the bank, their server monitors log in attempts (so if someone tries to login 50 times with the wrong password, security measures are triggered). Between these two things is a secure device (something your government doesn't want you to have, but you can get anyway), a some effort on your part.

October
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Your iPhone Tracking You and Listening - TURN THIS OFF! (youtube.com)

AI looks now like it will be largely decentralized and verticalized (lots of companies, including lots of opensource (mostly China), lots of specialized tools (on HuggingFace), say the besties. Mostly benign, business solutions, consumer products, entertainment. A couple years ago a lot of talk about a couple big companies monopolizing.

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YouTube (youtube.com)
You opt in to let anyone use your persona (your image, videos and images of you) to make anything you want (you can make videos of Sam Altman or whoever doing crimes, doing things they never did).

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Microsoft went too far (youtube.com)
You will have to use an online account just to use your home computer (locally). You need to have a Microsoft account and connect to the internet just to install. They shut off updates for Win10 for Americans (not for Europeans).

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YouTube (youtube.com)
Was the AWS server being down for so long, which inconvenienced many people who couldn't use their daily addicted apps etc, was it on purpose, so that people would be more willing to support further government spending on giant servers?

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You've Never Heard of the Most Profitable Scam in History (youtube.com)
Algorhythms and onpage trackers sort of scam take credit for a sale they didnt actually cause.

Google shows ads for products it knows people are already going to but soon, so the company pays Google for the ad it put on the page but didn't actually gain a new sale. And the company's marketing manager likes the way it looks, it looks like they're doing a good job with their marketing.

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The Evolution of Dating & How To Monetize This Industry (youtube.com)
'People will pay to increase their chances of finding love.' Video dating. Match.com monthly subscription to browse profiles. Match started buying competitors, consolidating the industry.

Should this activity be illegal? it's the same thing that caused the problems we have with SM and online retail.

2012 Tinder (owned by Match like dozens of other similar apps). Simplified to swipe left. Pay for an edge, if you want unlimited swipes or see who liked you.

One of Tinder's employees left and made Bumble, where only women can initiate. 2021 public.

User fatigue. Bots. Scams.

September
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Venezuelan president shows off phone from China's Xi Jinping (youtube.com)
‘... and the Americans can’t hack it. Neither their spy planes, nor their satellites.'

If you're someone like Maduro, why wouldn't you build a secure device over the years? It's not that hard to do. Why is he, years after being spyed on by the US initially, just receiving one from China?

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SpaceX buys wireless spectrum from EchoStar in $17 billion deal | REUTERS (youtube.com)
Allowing SpaceX to expand cell network 100x, and fill in zones where it hadn't had service before.

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Why Ukraine War's Deadly Drones Are Now Flying By 12-Mile-Long ‘Wires' | Frontline | Daily Mail (youtube.com)
Factories full of 3d printers and people assembling and testing. The factories' locations are secret and move frequently.

80% of strikes on battlefields are by drones.

August
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GOPHERSET: How NSA Backdoored SIM Cards (youtube.com)
ANT. Available since 2007, deployed later. SIMs have apps installed. STK. Info exfiltrated by SMS.

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Inside Meta's Hiring Spree: Why Zuckerberg Is Going All In On AI Talent (youtube.com)
If you give 20 years olds $100m dollars, do you think they're going to spend the next year or so grinding at work?

$75b free cash flow per year generated by Meta, plus a big bank account. They're going to invest like $50b per year in AI.

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Pourquoi Proton quitte la Suisse ? #10minutes pour comprendre (youtube.com)
Heading to Germany and Norway, because Switzerland is going to go from secure and neutral to surveillance state, it seems. Germany is the the champion of all categories of safeguards, he says. The constitutional court of Germany has overturned mass retention 3 times, and the EU Court of Justice has watched over it. Norway applies the GDPR, powers its own data centers and has natural cooling, and remains politically stable. Switzerland risks losing 'trust, which powers the connected economy.'

While this thing hasn't been enacted in Switzerland yet, and maybe it can be viewed as a necessary challenge to the seriousness of Switzerland in privacy, ie they have privacy, and politicians try to remove it but it defeats these politicians over and over again... That could happen, but it's a slow and uncertain process, so not worth the risk of it not beating those politicians. Proton started to move away a while ago when there first started to be signs of this, reportedly, even though the Swiss state monitoring will be rolled out slowly over several years. By that time Proton will be somewhere else, it seems. But we should note that Switzerland already failed years ago, when it changed course, after for decades being renowned for privacy in finance, which everyone knows is one of the most important domains of privacy, and gave in to US government demands and removed all it's privacy protections. That can be seen as a change in course overall, away from independent and strong to a client or subservient of the US, perhaps, although we don't know the reasons the individuals in charge did that.

OSCPT2025.

Over 5000 users, you have to give a permanent pipeline to a state monitoring authority. Not talking about the ability for a judge to grant a warrant, but instead just real time surveillance of everything that passes through. Stored for 6 months on servers external to the company. Full duplication for the state. A permanent flow between the applications and the authorities.

Proton's moto is ‘No logs ever.’

Don't depend on states. Depend on technology.

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ProtonMail Sends User IP and Device Info to Swiss Authorities. (youtube.com) (3 years old)
‘Guess what? My crappy click bait [called skitzo and conspiracist] was accurate.’

The crime the youth did, that Protonmail had to give the Swiss authorities, was truancy from school.

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Instragram Users, Do This NOW (youtube.com)
Instagram updated and now all users, by default, who made a post, it shows everyone your exact location. If you posted from your house, everyone knows where your house is now.

You can turn this off by either denying location access to Instagram in your phone's settings (if you had this on, bad on you and bad on your government), or you can go into the app and turn it off (but who knows if they'll just update again and turn it back on again for you).

‘This should be illegal.’ ‘I hope there’s some way they can get sued for this.' ‘This has to be a lawsuit.’ ‘In Brazil you have to manually enable it. Thank you, User Data Protection Law.’

But maybe the best comment is this one...

‘Oh no, how could this happen’

‘Google, we don’t trust you bro.' LMG

Clippy. LMG

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AI Bubble Pops, Zuck Freezes Hiring, Newsom’s 2028 Surge, Russia/Ukraine Endgame (youtube.com)
Even still, NVDA and the chips were green, as was most of the market.

The internet is negativitynet. YouTube is negativityTube. It is inactionnet, inactionTube. Depressionnet, depressionTube.

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YouTube (youtube.com)
When you Google the restaurant, it talks about deals and offers the restaurant doesn't actually make, so people come in expecting things that the restuarant isn't doing.

Google didn't respond for comment.

July
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Robots on verge of outnumbering humans at Amazon warehouses, Wall Street Journal reports (youtube.com)

Setting up a solar plant from start to finish is 17 months, the nuclear facilities US is contemplating allowing to start would be 10 years.

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WORST Use of AI So Far! (youtube.com)
Used AI to create their brief, which included made up cases as cited cases, and the real cases cited, it cited information that wasn't actually in those cases.

They will probably have to make it a crime to falsely cite false information, because I don't know what else would curb this. ... ‘Effect of signature’ means that the signature of a person constitutes a certification by the person that they have read the document, to the best of his knowledge the document is well grounded in fact or good faith, and the document isn't interposed with anything that would cause needless delay or work.

But this also probably means people will start to believe that AI will never replace lawyers.

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xAl's Mind Blowing Grok 4 Demo w/ Elon Musk (FULL REPLAY) (youtube.com)
Running out of test questions which people can't do (or with difficulty) but Grok can do.

Grok4 has multiple agents doing the task, and sometimes only one will solve it correctly, and the agents compare and decide which is best.

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Cracks in AI productivity bull case (youtube.com)
Devs are 20% slower when using AI tools, reported.

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As QR code use grows, so do ‘quishing’ scams (youtube.com)
25% of malicious links being sent are QR codes, reportedly.

June
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Microsoft Nuked His Files! | Weekly News Roundup (youtube.com)
This happened to me, during a forced update, about 10 years ago, the last time I used Windows, after already wanting to leave it for years.

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"The Mother Of All Breaches!" | 16 Billion Facebook, Apple And Google Passwords Exposed (youtube.com)
The problem is there are so many passwords, he mentioned. Regular people have to try to remember 10 or 20 long complicated passwords, some required caps, some required alphanumeric, etc.

China unveils mosquito-sized microdrone for battlefield reconnaissance (youtube.com)

May
April
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Africa's Surging Mobile Internet Demand (youtube.com)
Less than 5% of telecoms are landlines.

Many African nations have state-controlled networks. But others have large competitiors.

‘Meta gave China custom tools to access US data’

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The Art Of Poison-Pilling Music Files (youtube.com)
Activism. Don't see that much these days.

Adversarial noise.

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China releases names of U.S. 'secret agents' in cyberattacks (youtube.com)
US hackers targetting China.

Japan's anti-monopoly watchdog accused Google of violations in smartphones, similar to what US and Europe's have done.

Meta will start using publicly available data on Europeans in its AI training again.

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Europe gives staffers in US burner phones due to spying concerns (youtube.com)
When they visit the US (Washington for the IMF and WorldBank). Their standard comms kit ‘could be succeptible to surveillance’). Turn off personal devices and put them in an anti-RF sleave while in the US. They used to do this only for Russia, reported. Despite 2013 Merkel being spied on through her phone, Snowden advised during Obama.

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‘We’re A Cautionary Tale For The Rest Of The Country’: Subramanyam Decries 'Invasive’ Data Centers (youtube.com)
10 data centers use more power than all of DC, and their community has 200. People's utility bills increasing, using lots of water, security risk a bunch of data centers all in one location (northern Virginia).

This Might Be The End of 4chan.. (youtube.com)
Sourcecode for the site leaked, mods doxed (some were .edu and .gov addresses). User IPs obtained.

The QA board had been deleted because of ‘trolling and hate posting’.

Hacked because some forums allowed uploads of pdfs, and they weren't verifying a pdf was a pdf. They uploaded PostScript, passed into GhostScript, reset priveleges with suid.

4chan, one of the most interesting sites. 4chan will go up against people who typically ‘you would not want to go up against.’

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Spain blocks half the internet (youtube.com)
'Cloudflare's IP addresses are now being blocked during football games.' Vercel too.

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Amazon launches first Kuiper internet satellites into space (youtube.com)
Bezos is going to be a Democrat's champion if he beats Musk (or just damages Musk's businesses).

Nature

October
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Salmon return to Okanagan Lake after nearly a century (youtube.com)
They had been cut off by a series of dams. The dams were removed by First Nations bands.

350 km2 and 14 rivers opened up to salmon.

Salmon Warriors.

They're also planting nutrient rich plants along the banks of the waters. And releasing salmon frye into OK Lake.

August
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Study finds female bonobos band together to fend off male aggression in the wild | DW News (youtube.com) dw
Lol, you know a nature story is being presented by a Germanic country when mate competition is presented in terms of 20th century feminism.

Health

November
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Drug Historian Challenges Trump’s War on Fentanyl | Amanpour and Company (youtube.com)
'We can shift the weight from the drugs that are doing the most harm.'

Prohibition markets. No incentive to do a careful, expensive review process.

Kids use the drugs that are easiest to get. Whether they're the dangerous ones or not.

Fentanyl test strips.

September
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US experimented on humans with radioactive oatmeal, mystery fog | Elizabeth Vargas Reports (youtube.com)
It spayed cadmium over a neighborhood of 10k people. The army workers wore chemical protections.

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Trials for new HIV prevention drug showed 99.9% of participants remained negative (youtube.com)
Yeztugo.

$14k per injection, twice per year. $25 to manufacture.

Commenter. ‘Dang! I was a teenager in the 90s. If someone back then got HIV, that means they were going to die. This is incredible news. Hopefully soon they can make it affordable so many more people can use it.’

You only have to watch TV series episodes that covered it at the time to see how horrible it was. Complete social ostrization, fear, abhorence, and basically justified, but so terrible. And documentaries for the gritty situation. It also has caused a massive change in behavior for decades, so that behaviour can perhaps revert if progress continues.

$28k is a fine price for this. For however many year (I don't think it's too many) they get their patent protected. But the price is high, higher than the minimum wage in the US, I think, so maybe they'll consider lowering it in a non corporate decision.

After you make your number ($10mil or $100mil, whatever, each owner of the company), I'd guess just helping one person more would be worth more than any further million, but maybe not?

August
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Alarming new study suggests mRNA vaccines create genetic havoc (youtube.com)

The other day there were headlines the US government was stopping funding for mRNA or something.

July
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Why the U.S. Quitting Artificial Food Dyes Is So Difficult | WSJ (youtube.com)

If food producers start pu tting protein in food, how much will that decrease profits for junk food companies and drug companies, since protein is like the one thing that makes people feel full and satisfied and somewhat healthy. If they get protein, they'll stop eating (won't feel like snacking as much) and will feel more satisfied, and won't buy antidepressants to cure their fat, unsatisfied selves. ... How much is this tied in with the America we see in movies from the 50s and the current America we see on TikTok?

It was noted that part of the current trend toward eating more protein in the US might be linked to GLP1s, which I guess you're supposed to eat more protein or something?

When houses get saladmaking robots there're be another step towards health. How many people don't eat salads just because it's so much work to prepare and store them?

May
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BREAKING NEWS: President Trump Holds 'Make America Healthy Again' Commission Event With RFK Jr. (youtube.com)
The 100 days have passed, and finally we're starting to hear about Bobby and the health department. We haven't seen them in the news since the election, really.

Junk food out of food stamp system.

Youth on medicaid.

The Drug Lobby and it's power over Congress. US drug prices higher.

US taken advantage of by other countries, working with the drug companies, that they were going to pay less (US would pay the rest). Trump explained. Congress etc were ‘sort of afraid of them.’ Bobby said he had never seen a president stand up to industry leaders and say ‘We can’t do that. We're going to do it a different way.'

‘Not to do it would have taken far more courage. Because I was tired of it.’ Trump on confronting and saying no to the lobbyists and their politicians. 'The hardest thing, he [a congressman] said, was trying to justify why [US is paying much more].

He said he wants to get someone to police it. ‘I’ve done the order. It's done. But we have to get somebody that's go a lot of strength and a lot of power , because you have to implement it, because these countries are going to go down fighting. They don't want this to happen. Because [their prices are going to go up].'

He said that the other countries might try to resist (raising drug prices 15% so US can lower theirs 60%). He said he'd just say ‘That’s fine, we're not going to let you sell any more cars or any more wine or any more of anything that's actually much more important to them than the drugs' in the US. ‘We’re going to be able to force that issue if we need to.'

He said if a country holds out, they would have to not do business with that country, and they'd have to ‘be very tough until it’s stablized and equalized.'

‘And if you don't do it I am firing every single one of you.'

‘Speed is very important, because we can do this immediately. It doesn't take 2 years, 3 years. It doesn't take a month. So do the best you can.' He said to Oz. He earlier commented on how this things are signed on but they take effect in 4 years, and then 4 years later someone has changed it.

Also, it seems like Bobby's rep is at an all time high. I mean, it seems it's always been high. But he could be president later. Just so competent and sincere. Not a superstar like Trump, and Trump has become super presidential lately, like Putin or Kim Jong level presidential, just comfortable, talking through things and hitting all the points in the right way for the people and for all the players. Never seen anything like it in the West.

Human Interest

November
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Miss Universe Contestants Stage Mass Walkout After Official Calls Miss Mexico “Dumb” | 10 News+ (youtube.com)
For not posting about the pageant sponsors, which is not required but is part of the system. The director asked her publicly, in front of the room of contestants, why she wasn't posting about the sponsors, which is his style, reportedly.

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Mexico's Fatima Bosch crowned Miss Universe | BBC News (youtube.com)
The same Miss Mexico.

First year with a Miss Palestine.

Some judge resignations over claims of rigging.

September
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Man TAUNTS Border Patrol in Chicago: ‘I'm NOT a US Citizen’ (youtube.com)
A whole team of these masked soldiers couldn't catch the guy. Why are there squadrons of military dressed, masked thugs walking around the streets with machine guns in their hands? Chicago. Is it justified? No doubt they are putting some fear into criminals, which was probalby in defecit. But what nation has masked soldiers on missions in their cities?


April
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Middle-Aged Man Trading Cards Go Viral in Rural Japan Town (tokyoweekender.com)

Started out not as a game but just a way to recognize outstanding men in the community, an initiative by someone on their community council, but kids started matching them and debating relative strengths and a later issuance of the cards reflected their abilities.

Kawara, Fukuoka.

Crime

December
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Woman arrested for allegedly spraying substance on DoorDash food delivery (youtube.com)
Deliberately altering food is a felony, reportedly.

Stevenson faces two counts of battery resulting in moderate injury and two counts of consumer product tampering, all classified as felonies.

November
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Marseille: Narcotics traffickers now brazenly target those who oppose them, including their families (youtube.com)
‘... rather a crime of intimidation.’

Some say drug traffickers are trying to gain more control.

Macron is instead focusing on trying to get less drugs entering from overseas.

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‘He could be anywhere’: Former FBI agent on the search for Ryan Wedding (youtube.com)
US government alleges the Canadian former pro snowboarder is a criminal mastermind in a huge drug trafficking network. Prolific and violent. Charges stem to the murder of a federal witness. Trafficking drugs from SoCal to Canada.

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Credit card scam strikes Canadian couple on Italian trip, bank demands payment (youtube.com)
‘Fraud investigation cannot be reopened. That’s what we were told.'

After the news report, a few days, the couple received a reimbursement ‘as a one time goodwill gesture on an exception basis.’

‘Mastercard promises something called Zero Liability Protection. If consumers act responsibly, they shouldn’t be on the hook for credit card charges that are fraudulent. Something the couple expected in this case.' The couple used a regular ATM and entered their pin to withdraw money, but the ATM had been hacked.

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Chinese woman who became Philippines mayor gets life for human trafficking (youtube.com)
Online gambling and fraud investigation. Small town mayor. 800 mostly foreign workers running online gambling scams in a big compound of buildings. Trafficking of the scam workers, it seems.


Ex-news anchor gets decade in prison for $64 million COVID loan fraud scheme (youtube.com)

October
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13 Mexican Mafia affiliates arrested in L.A. raid (youtube.com)
A dominant street gang in San Pedro ("Rancho"), reportedly.

September
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British teen jailed in Dubai over sex with girl released | BBC News (youtube.com)

Commenter. 'The girl's mother reported him to Dubai authorities, when back in UK, after going through her daughter's phone, knowing he would be jailed and the age of consent is 16 in UK. Who wins here?' (He was 18 and she 17.)

'The girl's mother KNEW they BOTH will be jailed so that's why she reported him AFTER they came back to the UK! She'll get her karma. So glad for Marcus and his family! I can't even imagine what they went through..'

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Japanese Tourist Takes Ride In Gurugram, Films Traffic Police Taking Bribe | Viral Video (youtube.com)
This is inappropriate, and shows the lack of cultural understanding. Japan is an honor culture and no one even pays or accepts tips (currently being challenged by massive tourism forced on the population by the J government and US tippers trying to spread their toxic culture there like they have elsewhere). Japan pays a fair wage to everyone, including police.

Third world countries like India don't pay police, so people with more money (ie people who can afford to go do things and therefore encounter police) pay the police directly.

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'Queen of Canada' livestreams her own arrest as RCMP raid cult compound in Sask. (youtube.com)
The police PR woman said they ‘received a tip’ there was a firearm in the building, so they monitored it then raided it, arrested 17 people. No charges have been laid. They seized 4 replica (that means fake) handguns.

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Jeffrey Epstein claimed his cellmate tried to kill him 18 days before his death, documents reveal (youtube.com)

We Asked Criminals How They Pick Their Targets ... This Is What They Said (youtube.com)
The best part is at the beginning when you hear the boilerplate taught to anyone on the wrong side of the law. I did it because drugs/someotherpressure made me do it, I was in a bad place then, and I would never have done it to a woman/child. These are the things they learned they need to say to everyone, and they saw them, and maybe believe they actually are like that.

On this page

What Can You Do If a Mob Surrounds Your Car? (youtube.com)
At this point, the mob is not protesters, but organized crime, an organized attack. Anyone involved is participant. Treat them like the criminals they are, and treat this as the assault it is.

Lethal force is justified if you or someone else is facing imminent threat of death or serious bodily injury, or if a felony is being commited upon your person or in your home. (Most states in US, not all, reportedly.) You can't use lethal force usually to defend only property. A person has to be at risk. If they're trashing your car but probably not you, you can't use deadly force. You legally have to just sit there, basically (I mean you can't just drive through them). You can drive slowly and methodically, posing no risk of harm to anyone. You are ‘retreating’ when you do this, and there is no requirement you retreat in most (but not all) states. If windows are smashed, things change. Now glass is in the car, you already have risks of serious bodily injury or death. The stranger is now invading the space of the car, and it is reasonable to assume they might or will harm the occupants. Driving away more rapidly is now reasonable and could be legally justified in some (but not all) places. If someone reaches into the car to grab you (or pull you out), you area now ABSOLUTELY in imminent threat, plus a felony is ABSOLUTELY being commited upon your person. It is a felony assault, car jacking possibly, robbery possibly. If there are other passengers, you have more than one person ABSOLUTELY in imminent threat.

There should be national education on this. That if you smash someone's car's body, you can be charged only with that, but if you break their window or try to open their door, you are now committing assault and you have escalated this to a deadly threat level. Americans already have something like this with guns. Most or all Americans I have talked to, immediately and strongly recognize the difference between carrying a gun and carrying a gun with the safety off or cocked or drawn (unholstered). There are really different things for them, and they immediately understand the situation is really different. Same with an openly shown gun and a concealed gun.

August
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LAPD arrests man who blasted loud horns, alarms from home for months (youtube.com)
There used to be something called ‘distrubing the peace’ which would permit police action against people making noise.

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Downtown Albuquerque business finds unique solution to crime prevention (youtube.com)
Watersprinkler attached to wifi controller, paired with a surveillance camera (unfortuantely a Ring spy device).

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Fraudes com PIX e boletos superam furtos e assaltos no Brasil (youtube.com)
24m Brazilians have been victims of digital scams. How about don't use that technology?

If banks want to avoid their customers being scammed in the name of the bank, just send them a code any time you want to communicate with people, they call your official number (or app) and type in the code and get your message. Not complicated. Anything from a bank that's not a code is a scam.

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YouTube (youtube.com)
Those guilty of falsely prosecuting him don't pay that bill though. Guess who does.

The guy's ex wife made the allegations as part of a contentious custody battle. As usual, it's a woman using sex laws as a weapon.

Malicious prosecution and excessive pretrial punishment (151 days in solitary in Oakland County jail).

How does this even hope to prevent the same thing from happening again?

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Judge Investigated For Jailing Man Improperly (youtube.com)
Weighing whether to take the extraodinary measure of charging the judge.

The judge was doing a favor for some guy who worked for another judge in the building, because the guy that came before him did something to that other judge. The judge jailed the guy for a lengthy time without any charge.

This judge has been a judge for 20 years.

Judges should take yearly tests and refreshers on the role of a judge and what civil rights are.

On this page

Bounty hunters face charges after kidnapping wrong man (youtube.com)
The innocent middle eastern American guy's client at the moment was an undercover informant for the bounty hunter company (which hasn't responded for comment). The 3 black men rolled up, threw stun grenades and pointed ARs at the guy and hauled him off to the police station.

The hunter company had a 78% facial recognition match or something.

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Know your rights: Are ICE agents required to show their faces? (youtube.com)
Since a 2021 rule, all they have to show is their nametag and insignia for the organization they work for. Pretty easy to fake this and do crimes impersonating them.

ICE didn't respond to requests by the news organization for information on this topic.

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THP Trooper arrests 8th sober driver for DUI (youtube.com)
Why don't people want to cooperate with police when they do roadside check? Oh, right.

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DC Mayor Forced To Admit Massive Crime Drop | 87% Drop in Carjackings. (youtube.com)
Not going to hate on the man for tough on crime stance. We've been carrying on in a overly liberal (partially necessary to upkeep their pro black stance) regime for a while, and crime is allowed. But can Trump make a distinction between real crime (actual force, actual taking of valuables against someone's will) from malum prohibitum? He also has been ‘tough on flag burners’ Trump cracks down on flag-burners with new executive order (youtube.com) which is an obvious civil right. Seems he doesn't really have much understanding in this complicated area. Ideal would have been a pro civil rights leader who was also conscious about crime, but could one have made it to the polls?

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Homeowner shoots, kills 2 men in ski masks claiming to be officers, HPD says (youtube.com)
What would you do if men in ski masks showed up at your door claiming they were government agents or police? ICE and some other organizations regularly cover their faces these days.

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Federal agents detain Studio City car wash employees (youtube.com)
ICE.

‘It was just disgraceful.’ ‘You are a bully.’ He was trying to tell the agent he had his ID in his locker. ‘There were little children here, witnessing this.’ Screams.

TIM. This is America.

Seems to be mostly supportive of the action and ICE in the comments. Not sure if these are real people or bots, but seems strange if they are real people not offended by this.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0QoeNtOgZY0

This is another one where there might be pro ICE bots. The video has a police saying ‘real officers don’t wear masks', and of course all the comments are like ‘Remember that, ICE.’ but then there are (perhaps) bots saying ‘So you side with crime?’ Stuff like that.

July
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Citizen’s arrest at Ottawa business (youtube.com)
2 hours before police arrived at the scene.

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Drone Arrests - theft of over $15,000 of product from Burberry (youtube.com)
They use a drone to follow the perps as they leave the store, and they follows them where they walk to. SF. Who wants to live in a place like this? just to arrest people for stealing brandname bags?

June
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Epic NYPD Gang Takedowns (youtube.com)
When the cops do focussed investigations and take the most violent offenders off the streets, the surrounding community experiences a drop in gun violence.

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End of the road: Cargo criminals attacking the U.S. supply chain at alarming rates (youtube.com) cnbc
The overseas criminals target the systems US companies use, ie they hack them (ie their code or person-level security isn't good).

Meta and Oculus, Nike Air Jordans. Popular targets.

They use fake invoices and fake agents ready to pick up the phone if someone calls to check. They impersonate real companies.

Little risk, lots of reward. Non violent. These cargos can be worth like half a million. The average is $203k. A lot of the people are overseas, like Pakistan. The companies are overseas themselves.

‘Once you figure out how the system works, it looked pretty easy.’

‘Strategic cargo theft.’ ‘It’s like catfishing.' (They get an employee to give them their login info, whether by social hack ('Hey I need you to verify your account with your password.' 'Ok, I'll verify'.) or just pay him.) A criminal goes online and impersonates a legitimate person in the supply chain. They impersonate a broker (between the shipper of goods and the trucker). They post listings of available jobs for truckers to pick from. Trucker goes and gets the goods and delivers them where the brockerage wanted them to. At some point, the trucker notices he didn't get paid. It takes a long time to figure out what happened, at what point.

‘All this technology that was to make things more efficient can be hacked pretty easily.'

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Man Clicked A Link on His Phone and Lost $2.4M (youtube.com)
Politicians don't protect people by making sure phone and app companies aren't insecure because voters don't care and politicians aren't responsible people.

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109 children rescued, 244 arrested in North Texas, exposing widespread child exploitation (youtube.com)
70 Texas agencies, including FBI. 109 children rescued, but didn't comment on what ‘children’ or ‘rescued’ mean here.

They meet on gaming sites and SM.

70 agencies is a lot of labor devoted to arresting a couple hundred people who paid people to send them nude videos. The story didn't mention any other crimes except receiving nudes, so we can assume there was no actual crime of force or anything like that. Literally, all this work, including using the big guns the FBI. Also referred to it as ‘coercing’ people into sending them nudes, and no comment on how people try to find buyers for their nudes.

It seems likely that the actual arrests were probably made for things that didn't actually even involve people, since that's how these cases usually happen over the past 10 or 20 years. Rather, law agents pretend to be children, seek out people and test them and usually entice them to commit something illegal. As I've said before, this makes it easier, because then they don't have to deal with the other actual person, which complicates the blame situation.

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Teen girl found guilty of manslaughter in fatal Toronto swarming attack (youtube.com)
Random attack on a homeless man, beaten and stabbed after he stuck up for a friend who was being attacked. Near Union Station. 7 teenage (13 to 16) girls. Long trial, over several years. Not tried for murder. The girls were accused of several attacks.

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TSA issues warning about ‘juice jacking’ in airports (youtube.com)
Hacking when you use the free plugin at an airport (and other businesses).

April
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Former employees: We wore police uniforms (youtube.com)
Security company. Solaren. One, at least, received a letter from the actual police chief, saying he was a ‘POST certified part time police officer with the City of Millersville in reserve capacity.’

A news story about ‘imposter police' contributed to the crackdown on same, it seems.

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Criminals using $20 'distraction' tactic to scam victims | FOX 11 LA (youtube.com)
The thiefs say ‘You dropped this $20', then later when they come again and try to force it into her purse, but at the same time are slipping her debit card in the same gesture as putting the $20 in her purse.

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Better Business Bureau warns of Real ID scams (youtube.com)
‘Scam artists love government mandates like this.’

Real ID gold star.

The imposters usually pose as government employees.

The scammers want your private info and your banking info. These communications often appear legit, a government agent calling you. They even now advise citizens to never answer their phones, even from the government. Do not click anything in an email, even from the government. (By the way, even if you check the email sender address and it is a legit government address, the government is often hacked because they don't do proper security (and can't, by the way, because of the limitations of their employees), so a real government email could contain a malware link, potentially). If you get a call, check your messages and if it's the government call them. However, you might not be able to get through their phone machine maze.

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Europol’s ‘Biggest Bust’ Was a Honeypot from Day One (youtube.com)
The best way for law enforcement to combat crime is to create the crime themselves.

Culture

December
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South Korea's digital sex crime crisis: The 'molka' epidemic • FRANCE 24 English (youtube.com)
Places in Korea have staff that go through bathrooms etc with detection devices trying to find hidden cameras.

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Is this the end of the internet? | The Stream (youtube.com)
It's not like it's the only internet that we can make.

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big tech is betting on gambling and scams (youtube.com)
If illegal or detrimental activity is incentivized plus those who can capitalize on it are a small number of government connected and protected corporations/pseudo agencies, who use monopoly techniques to destroy competition, is that a social issue more than an economic issue?

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Is Mark Carney criminalizing faith? PLUS - I've got a new job!! (youtube.com)

Nick Fuentes, who is young, vocal against women and jews, etc, is getting massive retweets and comments. Reporting on him is little soundbites, and that's what gets more views for him. Meant to shock and analyze people. Not entirely organic, someone is paying for countless bot or fake accounts in India, Pakistan, etc, to boost him. Who?

China banned OF.

Why did Time Magazine name 'Architects of AI' as Person of the Year? (youtube.com)

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Zoochosis: is this what we are all experiencing? (youtube.com)

A lot of random, different people are talking about freedom lately in a way that they haven't (for 50 or 100 years maybe), where they are for the first time considering that freedom for the current Germanic led society is do whatever you want, engage in any vices, no one will or should judge or shame you for it, but the shame and judgement are part of limitations that benefit people. Maybe people will remember self responsibility, too, coming up?

Every commercial is sports betting or pharmaceuticals, corn is ‘good for you.’ To do anything but allow people to do anything they want would be ‘oppressing them.’

Some of this might also come by way of the limitations of expression, which, no new technology or tools or ideas in decades, no new activities or ‘types of people’. People throwing themselves against the limits trying to find something to innovate, after a while they might just collectively give up. Un progression?

Literature is less limited, theoretically, or less out of possibilites.

It might be that whoever leads, whichever place or political party imposes appropriate strictures (which should expand liberty, not compromise it), will see the advantage, and other places will also see it and adopt it.

Lana's BTD album from 2012, not originally critically acclaimed perhaps, is still charting.

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Who are the 'lost generation'? (youtube.com)
He wrote a TV show, and the production company wanted to hire him, but said he couldn't because they were already all white there and maybe if they found someone of color to hire then after that they could hire another white person. 2014. Proudly discriminated against.

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Nicki Minaj praises JD Vance as 'assassin' as Erika Kirk sits next to her (nbcnews.com)

"Dear young men, you have amazing role models like our handsome, dashing president and you have amazing role models like the assassin JD Vance, our vice president," Minaj in an interview.

'Minaj appeared to immediately grasp her flub, covered her face and went silent for several awkward seconds.

'That's when Erika Kirk came to Minaj's defense and told the musician not to worry about her verbal misstep.

'"Trust me, there's nothing new under the sun that I have not heard. So you're fine," the reassuring Kirk told Minaj. "I love you."'

November
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'The numbers are stark': Scott Galloway on the crisis facing boys and men (youtube.com)
‘Our economy literally rests on (10 giant) tech companies now.’

‘They’re in the business of enragement, polarization, and sequestering young people from all other activities.'

He says males are emotionally and psychologically much weaker than girls of the same age, that they are less developed.


He's noticed the shift since 5 years ago, that when you raised these issues people would have a kneejerk against you, and shame you for raising the issue of disadvantages or risks to young men, and they're willing to talk about special interests for every group except young men, but mothers who have noticed this happening to their boys, have pushed a few politicians to start talking about it.

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Facebook (facebook.com)
Looks like the age gap stigma effort by non young women is over or on the way out. 10 years ago the comments were almost all against allowing this, 5 years ago there was a mix of condemnation and men and women asserting their rights, and this year it seems the condemnation attempt is in the minority. Another post going around is that ‘women prefer an age gap in relationships’. That was an approach never really thought of 10 years ago. It's also been going around SM finally that when it comes to violent p*** and other entertainment, women prefer it more.

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How the CIA Uses Music as the MOST Powerful Weapon Ever Created | Mike Benz (youtube.com)
Street concerts get people into the practice of taking to the streets in groups. Organizing about something everyone likes, versus about abortion or tax policy or energy which half the people might not want to organize about that.

Start a radio station, rock, sports and huricane updates until 100k subs, then anti government messages after 100k.

USAID is ‘running the rap game in many countries’. A cutout for CIA becauea artists are scandalized if they accept money directrly from CIA. Just like Jazz or Classical or Rock music in previous decades.

You don't see a lot of foreign leaders decrying the shutdown of USAID. The Mexican, Salvadorean and Bolivian leaders were glad, he Benz.

‘Culture sets the bounds for what’s politically possible.'

...

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Danish attitudes to the EU have 'changed dramatically': Denmark's Europe Minister Bjerre (youtube.com)
Danes used to be Eurosceptic, but they've been opting back into European organizations. Wars and new political wins in the US, so Europe needs to be much stronger, she says.

October
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Woman says black fatigue has hit Japan, women were acting ghetto, almost kicked off flight to Tokyo (youtube.com)

A facebook post with some photos of a college age Zuckerburg in his dorm. ‘In 2002, this young individual already had access to both a laptop and a desktop computer—an opportunity that most children at the time could only dream of. Stories of self-made billionaires often create the illusion that success is born purely from struggle, but research shows that nearly 80% of the world’s wealthiest individuals come from families with established financial security. Unlike those worrying about their next meal, they had the privilege to take risks, experiment, and fail without fear of losing everything.’ If there had been more kids with laptops, might we have better options for our tech (SM, platforms)?

...

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Hungarian master of absurdist excess László Krasznahorkai wins Nobel literature prize (apnews.com)

Krasznahorkai won won Nobel Literature, who said his biggest inspiration for writing was ‘the bitterness.’ When he thinks of the world it seems a ‘sad status.’

'The settings of his novels move across central Europe's remote villages and towns, from Hungary to Germany, before skipping to the Far East, where his travels to China and Japan left deep-seated impressions.'

'Much of Krasznahorkai's inspiration comes from experiences in central Europe on the cusp of the fall of communism. In 1987, Krasznahorkai moved from communist Hungary to West Berlin, where he said he found "a democratic ambience" he had never experienced before. "Ever since, I have never forgotten the taste of freedom," he said in an interview on the Friderikusz Podcast in 2023.'

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Deloitte caught out using AI in $440,000 report | 7.30 (youtube.com)
One thing you see in various fields of enterprise, is the workers take whatever shortcuts are available. If there are a lot of shortcuts, they take them all, to the point where you can't find any workers who will even complete the job properly (they'll fake it as far as they can get). Enterprising people are left with the choice of doing it themselves or not doing it. WIll AI tools cause less people to be hired, and those who are hired just not complete jobs properly?

September
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BREAKING: Xi Jinping Condemns Revisionist Agendas, Urges Education to Protect Truth (youtube.com)
Let's see in 50 years when the people are children of the children of parents who seriously struggled.

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Aerial footage shows scale of 'unite the kingdom' rally (youtube.com)
However, usually what a country (culture) has done, it will do. UK always just accepts rule, even oppressive rule. Not always, but violence is rare. Is there any other actual fearable consequence for politicians? If not, you have your answer about what sort of thing is necessary for change, and if the Brits don't want to, expect just more of the same.

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I can't believe this really happened. (youtube.com)
She was kicked out of a scientific organization. I don't think that's new though?

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BREAKING: KIMMEL PULLED, Dems & Journalists Covering Up Growing "Near-Instant" Terror Networks (youtube.com)
Kimmel put on indefinite leave after he made jokes about that Kirk guy. Obviously, Kirk has become a thing distinct from the person he was. Kirk is now a ‘with us or against us’ fallacy. It's a lie, but if you believe it or at least support us in it, you're with us. This will offend people who prioritize truth and honesty, but it would be best for them to understand that Kirk is just a thing now, as I just mentioned, and move on to serious matters, if that's their interest.

But besides an us them thing, it probably is also meant as an explosive, triggering, messy outrage tool. Like any time a hard question is asked the Republicans now, they can steer things to Kirk and be outraged and aggreived and demand the questioner silence himself, and make the whole dialogue misdirect to Kirk and that stuff. Basic US politics.

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Late-night hosts give ‘polarizing reaction’ to Jimmy Kimmel suspension (youtube.com)

People in the comments of the talk show host punishment videos are all ‘What is happening to this country?’ The same line they said about the cancellation videos in the 'liberal' regime that led to Trump being elected.

A few hundred celebrities, including many A listers, signed a letter they wanted people to boycot ABC shows, not subscribe to services with ABC. Including Dua Lipa, Tom Hanks

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Jimmy Kimmel will be returning to air, Disney announces (youtube.com)

But did Disney or ABC cave? or did Kimmel cave and make agreements? We will see by his comments and behaviour the first day. If he wants to show he didn't cave, he should make some fairly hardcore jokes (although no need to be as rude and improper as he was that day. I mean, he should be more hardcare and brave, but just less improper).

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youtube.com
At least people are talking about it.

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youtube.com
So this is how it happened in Germany finally. It happened recently in Japan too.
Leftist Activists Demand Removal of Ruby on Rails Founder, DHH (youtube.com)

August
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Tea app & UK Online Safety Act - the world is becoming a black mirror episode :( (youtube.com)
Children and terrorists, the best friend of abusive politicians.

‘This is stuff I just don’t have patience for the way I used to.' Hopefully a common and growing sentiment.

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Billionaire Michael Saylor Explains Why 'Diversification' Is A Terrible Strategy (youtube.com)
Diversification is a terrible way to avoid the corruption and abuse that naturally springs from consolidation.

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ChatGPT is giving teens dangerous advice on drugs and alcohol, study says (youtube.com)

I recently saw a post about how girls as young as 10 or 11 considered OF a viable alternative to work.

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Sydney Sweeney back in the spotlight: 'Going to melt liberal minds' (youtube.com)
What is it about this girl? She definitely has it, despite being not attractive when you inspect her, no curves either, big chest I guess, blonde hair. Attention clings to her, and she's in the spotlight a lot.

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Zombieland? Downtown Hamilton is equal parts heartbreaking and horrific (youtube.com)
An organization should offer free food and clothes, but they have to go to the politicians neighborhood where the organization has their tables set up.

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CDC shooting suspect identified (youtube.com)
Is the revolt of the demos? Perhaps confused and not well directed?

A 30 year old man from a nice green suburb. Motive not reported on yet.

Appears to be a press photo blackout, was noted by many commenters. Usually there's a photo immediately somewhere, social media or news.

On this page

𝗘𝗡𝗗 𝗢𝗙 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗟𝗜𝗡𝗘: Sheriff’s Deputies Sweep Santa Monica Metro, Wake Sleeping Passengers (youtube.com)

People are remarking that while (USA, UK, other first world) governments are ‘scrubbing porn from the internet’ (which everyone knows may just be attempts to further monitor internet users by forcing ID verification), and not ‘allowing teenage girls to learn about periods on Reddit’ (I think that might be Australia), billionaires can sell you $30 a month access (to Grok) to creating free nonconsentual porn of anyone who's photo you give it (or it already has). Visa and Mastercard in Europe apparently recently said they wouldn't allow payments anymore for some explicit content. People allow this intervention though so far, so nothing you can really say about it. Many commenters saying it's fine if ‘the astroid comes’ (I think Andrew Tate said this and people refer to it now), showing the lack of hope generally in the society in the face of irresponsible governments, which is the one thing, really, lacking, and the one thing the people have not become steeled enough to demand or force. When the people rebel in force, hope will reawaken.

Social media is less social now, people rarely post their own pictures and ideas. It's more produced content, fast fashion, hotels, advertising. Personal content can't compete.

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Angela Duckworth at Bates: Push those cell phones away (youtube.com)

Lil Tay posts all over Facebook, how she made a few mil within the few days after her 18th, because she created a OF account at midnight that day. An example of why some parents don't let their kids have SM or try to be influencers at all, because if they build any kind of following, it means a big offer of millions if they go prostitute on their 18th birthday (or later, but will less effect). Girls who wouldn't otherwise do it at all, faced with an offer of millions instead of their regular 9 to 5, will often choose the money, even if they have to leave their family, etc.

I wonder what the CEOs and owners of OF think of this type of thing? Or do they just stock it with people who don't care.

Lots of parents out there also perectly willing to turn their daughter out, or have her turned out, for some comfort, or more comfort. Politics (politicians who are elected at the moment) are sometimes on the side of the non pimp parents, and sometimes on the side of the pimp parents.

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1993.

‘To it’s supporters ganster rap is a form of social protest, a kind of street theater,' representative of middle america. Others say it's simply to exploit race stereotypes for profits.

The protests at the time were basically just middle aged, educated, professional and family types in a church, and some offended women in their 20s or 30s.

‘It lets everybody know to a certain extent that we as black people MUST have low self esteem, no respect for ourselves or anyone else, and we just don’t care who we hurt as long as we're making a dollar.' That exactly is how it seemed in the mid 90s was the message, and some people were disgusted and just couldn't understand why lots of people around them had hip hop and gangster rap as their favorite music (not just blacks). It was a surprise when this attitude and philosophy went from something a few wanna bes had (as long as it was just fantasy) to becomming one of and then later the main social force and message, not just among blacks. It's hard to say, since I haven't really read any studies that have really collected data, how much this one movement, the allowance of ‘black music’ and it's I don't care about you, I just want money attitude, so strikingly different from what was acceptable or even considered possible in the Western world, has impacted society and culture. We're still in it though. Anyone who says they don't like it or agree with it, since it is now the mainstream, are laughed at as immature or ridiculously conservative.

Black leaders also didn't speak against it much. Democracy?

In Brazil, music singing about violence or crime is illegal. You can still do it, people do it, but it's local, in the community, not on the radio. It's limited and not prevented from being the mainstream. So I've heard.

It also reflects the lack of effective law enforcement of real crimes. And of the criminal justice system and punishment system.

How can we have freedom of speech and expression, not limit it, and at the same time prevent wild swings to social harm?

White males bought the most ganster rap CDs. Arguable, the problem would have been contained if it had continued to be a black issue. White kids wanted to be tough and cool, though.

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How We Stopped Caring About “Selling Out” (youtube.com)
This has always seemed a part of this ‘black culture’ movement. Cash only matters. What you do doesn't matter. Materialism. Rock and Western folk was rebellion, anti establishment, anti corporate. Rap (after the story rap of the 80s) was baseness.

How black is the movement? Can someone look at the white rappers and artists, and see how much the messages are the same? Are white or latino rappers also all about money before anything, let's do lots of violence, treat women and anyone like garbage? Do they tout violence and mercenariness the same way, even now 30 years after the first white kids started buying the CDs?

Did Michael Jackson sell out to Pepsi in 1983? Tina Turner and Bowie followed. Woodstock 99's corporatism was remarkable at the time. Napster erased sales revenue from 1999. Most people currently, youths and adults, want to be a fulltime influencer, perhaps the most abusive, monetizeeverythinginyourlife job out there. Faith in this seems weak though. I talked to some teenagers the other weekend and this came up. I led and said how disgusting influencers were and how you could never be friends with them, because everything you do with them they just want to turn around and make content out of it. They came in and said it was lame and bad and they didn't like influencers. In the old days, the number one job people want was musician or actor, and you would never be able to convince people these were bad or ugly jobs.

The missing thing here is options. People allow their politicians to make deals to enshine a small number of high priveleged CEOs of corporations that do everything people would otherwise share doing among many companies. No one wants to use YouTube, or Facebook, or support corporate musicians, people hate spotify, but there is no option to vote with their actions. It's a fragile stasis.

...

For about 1 or 2 months now, podcasts have seemed passe to me. They had been hyped up to be ‘the new media’ and ‘the new authority’ and they were, but right now it seems podcasters are on the coolaid, and refer to themselves that way, despite it still being a boring, low production product, only turned to in the absense of any integrity by the better produced products. It should keep a place though in terms of the value of long form interviews, where it really is harder to give a fake impression to the masses if you have to sit and talk normally for 2 or 3 hours. You can't be manufactured the same way. Kamala and Biden avoided participating, and more genuine people jumped at the chance.

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youtube.com
Algospeak.

I think these are mis directed, though, since creative words are easier to find and censor than just picking and agreeing on a word that already is in common usage and that the SMs can't sensor (because they'd have to sensor everyone) and leaving it to context for people to get which meaning it is meant to have. Generally, you want their attempts to backfire.

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What is the "Greedy Algorithm" and Why is it So Dangerous? (youtube.com)
YouTubers are experts in the study of algorhythms, dealing with it seriously every day for years. At first it seemed they were content to try to conform themselves to it, but now it seems some are philosophizing about it.

Is it just nostalgia, or is it different this time? that some people don't want anything to do with anything that happened after around 2010, the advent of Web 2.0, the commercialization of everything, every part of social life, the complete destruction of privacy with the advent of phones, CCTV and digital surveillance, and the loss of a youth that does anything? If someone had the energy, they could start building zones where this technology was not permitted and was guarded against, just so people could at least occasionally enjoy themselves a little more.

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China tourist demands Taiwan flags be removed from Yokohama eatery｜Taiwan News (youtube.com)
Japan government wants more tourists always. And the Japanese citizens?

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In Indonesia, Authorities Are Divided on How to React to People Flying the ‘One Piece’ Flag (youtube.com)
‘This is a symbol of warning to the government, that they have to look at their people.’

The government recently told Indonesians they should fly the Indonesian flag everywhere (school, work, etc), and these people are saying the government should find out why the people are flying the One Piece flag instead of the Indonesian flag.

The people are already saying the government shouldn't say they are ‘dividing Indonesia', seemingly familiar with government's general reaction to opposition messages.

The government guy interviewed said they were informed there were ‘efforts of treason in dividing unity of the nation.’

July
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All B.C. events should be assessed for risk, report says (youtube.com)
‘A report on the safety of public events in B.C. says all such gatherings should have a risk assessment. The report by a former judge Christopher Hickson makes six recommendations, including the development of a provincial hub for information. Terry Yung, the minister of state for community safety, says the province fully accepts the intent of the report and will implement its recommendations as soon as possible. (July 9, 2025)’

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Goldman Will Ask Junior Bankers to Swear Their Allegiance to the Bank (youtube.com)
To thwart poaching. Private equity is willing to pay more.

Juniors should ask a similar pledge back from the company, maybe.

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If they can't directly attack the DeepState, they should formalize ongong education within the organizations, so that all staff has to take teaching and give presentations and tests on what their job is supposed to be, the Constitution, its importance, etc. That would strengthen in a beneficial way the entire organization from the inside.

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Farage's X appeal: Gen X women lead female charge to Reform UK (youtube.com)
Conservatism? Burkhas? Family values?

People concerned about these issues don't feel any of the legacy parties will represent them, so there is opportunity for reform. “”.

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Manhattan Shooting Has Security Experts Asking ‘What Else Can We Do?’ (youtube.com)
How about make it a place people don't hate and feel desperate all the time, and feel no compunction about killing others, and think violence is normal or even celebrity?

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"These Were TERRORISTS": Ottawa Residents React to the 2022 Freedom Convoy (youtube.com)
Worse before better?

Doesn't take even smarts on the part of politicians to understand that Canadians are already not willing to oppose anything they happen to do, and if they put out a harsh punishment, they can easily scare Canadians into never protesting.

June
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'Slide Into Chaos': Is Great Britain About to Explode in Civil War? (youtube.com)
Economic decline, total loss of trust in the police, and fractuous and increasingly extreme politics, mostly based on bringing in masses of Muslim immigrants without requiring they integrate.

Ethnic conflict over resources (because economy in decline). A two-tier justice system that favors Muslims, combined with high-profile (sometimes outrageous) Muslim-on-white incidents.

A tweet by a white woman sentences to prison for a tweet (which perhaps spoke in favor of doing things that might harm Muslims) said ‘If that makes me a racist so be it’. So racism will become accepted, and the threat of calling someone racist will be null. This might have happened sooner, except UK (and some other nations but not USA) make it illegal to be racist, basically.

Orwelian state censorship.

Church attendance is up. Young people are ‘more religeous than ever.’

‘If there’s going to be any change, it's going to come from the people, it's not going to come from the politicians.' But ‘there is a great deal of ruin in a nation (Smith).

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BREAKING: Anti-immigration protests ERUPT across Northern Ireland as police face 'sustained attack' (youtube.com)&pp=0gcJCd4JAYcqIYzv" target="_blank">BREAKING: Anti-immigration protests ERUPT across Northern Ireland as police face 'sustained attack' (youtube.com)

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Dodgers, DHS clash over federal agents’ presence in stadium parking lot (youtube.com)
Will ICE become the new stazi? They're everywhere, and have a ‘reason’ to be there. They have a ‘reason’ to stop and review everybody. It's a 'reason' to film and facial recognigntion everyone.
Kevin Costner sued by stunt double over 'Horizon 2' rape scene (youtube.com)

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TikTok creator facing 8 criminal counts on Long Island for acts seen in viral videos (youtube.com)
The fame chase (on TikTok) may be differently valued than the profits involved.

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20-year-old identified as suspect in deadly ambush of Idaho firefighters (youtube.com)
Young people being violent and organized. Seeing it in the news lately. Not sure if it's just my feed or what.

People will say it's the economy, the rich and the poor, and that's part of it, as it relates to contentedness and purpose and hope, but for years things have been getting so negative, and all the hopeful spots just evaporate, destroyed by the most powerful entities like the main governments and their agencies, the biggest corporations who swallow all the small ones and the courts don't protect society from them. Where is a good country to go? There isn't really one anymore. Maybe Argentina. What's the good job to do? Does anyone really value it if you do any good, traditional thing, like produce something of use for society, or have children or a family, or treat others with courtesy? It's been a while since we've seen anything like punishing the rude, inconsiderate, opportunistic, manipulative people, whether politicians, CEOs, YouTubers, whatever. And since we don't have civics, adults never had any learning in those areas and are helpless and ridiculous.

‘I’d like to have a law like that' is something people might remember we can say in a society. If artists don't want corporations to just take all their work for AI models, you can say that. If you don't want politicians to spend without any limits, you can say that.

15 years ago, you could go on the internet and find all kinds of cool things, things people were thinking about, were writing about, were doing. Now I go on, I look (at the only remaining places which are a couple of supergiant SM platforms), don't find anything, and disconnect from the internet and try to find some old thing to look at. Hollywood is lame, TV shows there are no new writers. They charge anyone (male, who are the main doers) with sexual interest if they get any success, even decades later. Why would anyone do anything like crawl out of their little shell?

People used to make love when they went out of their house. Now they just go to the gym. Because it's the only thing left to them where they won't get attacked. It's the least problematic.

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Iowa becomes first state to remove gender identity from civil rights code (youtube.com)

Some indie band called horsehoof or something (deerclaw?) is pulling their songs from Spotify, because they don't want to be on a platform where there's AI or something, and because Spotify only pays ‘a pittance’ anyway. For real, though, that stock has gone crazy, just a steady increase, and they're just raking in profits I guess, and it's not like they're like a label that provides anything, like promotion or whatever, they just sit there and let people put things on their platform. I'm not sure why musicians don't just organize (just a tiny little bit in this case) and jump to a proper platform. .... Oh, it turns out it was because the CEO led a funding round for a military tech company or something, and the band, Deerhoof, didn't want their music to contribute to killing people.

Coders out there, there's a big opportunity here, because while mercenary genres like hiphop or pop might not leave nomatter what, indie groups etc will. The mercenary bands will put their stuff on the alternative thing too if it gets even a little money.

The most recent (crappy, formulaic) Jurassic Park still made $1b at the box office. The upcoming one has ScarJo, as a mercenary. Looks like just a pulp formulaic thing again.
Scarlett Johansson brings near-extinct Jurassic Park franchise roaring back to life • FRANCE 24 (youtube.com)

May
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Trump's First 100 Days, Tariffs Impact Trade, AI Agents, Amazon Backs Down (youtube.com)
They want a new club (the clubs in DC have been around for centuries or decades) where they can go and the next guy at the bar isn't a journalist or blogger, they don't know don't trust. It's like any club.

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What's the new Pope Leo XIV's stance on LGBTQ+ and women’s rights? | DW News (youtube.com)
What is the importance of differences between popes? Is it their political views, the things they condemn or allow in terms of practices some people want to do? Do any of them offer wisdom or guidance, in terms of their ideas and the expression of them, things that are uncommon or new?

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Cannes 2025: Nudity ban causes a stir on the red carpet • FRANCE 24 English (youtube.com)
Over the past year, it seems there's been some action against uncontrolled women. Ie they'll just push sex as far as they can, since it's the easiest way to get attention. I saw a headline OF girls are banned from some online university or something, so they're ‘making their own’ or something.

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DHS revokes Harvard’s certification to enroll international students (youtube.com)
Headlines like this make Harvard appear to be a much lower prestige thing than traditionally. I guess that's what happens when you lose soft power over decades by being lame. You can't convince anyone, or hold your ground against anyone, except people who are politically interested in your side.

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Bond crisis looming? GOP abandons DOGE, Google disrupts Search with AI, OpenAI buys Jony Ive's IO (youtube.com)
Jcal was at a party or something and some guy came up to him wearing an AI pin (a personal front-facing surveillance camera) and Jcal was like what is that (already knowing what it was) and the guy was like ‘Does it bother you?’ and Jcal was like ‘Does it bother you if I punch you in the face?’ Same as last time, years ago, when they tried to make Rayban camera glasses and guys wore them in public.

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YouTube (youtube.com)
Said it at the start, and all along. Cable was the best, but just control the amount of commercials they're allowed to put. 3 short (regular length) commercials is fine, and 2 or 3 times per half hour (no extra commercial break with extra long and numerous commercials before the end of the show, etc, things that just frustrate you and make you want to not use cable.

April
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Shopify CEO: Staffers need to prove jobs can't be done by AI before asking for more resources (youtube.com)

‘The Great Deumbening’ a headline I saw. I would guess that move started really in the 90s, I guess with the Simpsons and then it spread hard into TV and films, commercials, talkshow hosts, etc. I mean, it was always funny, court jesters, Charlie Chaplin, but as a cultural aspiration, I don't think anyone tried to be that way until after then 90s. Before that we were making fun of stupidity. Is ‘dumbening’ the same effect as de-masculining, but from social liberalim and inclusionism (of other races etc) instead of feminism?

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The White Potus - SNL (youtube.com)
Recommend not watching it. I didn't get through it. But I put it as a bookmark to what SNL and what Liberal culture is like currently. 0 funniness. Doesn't even make sense as comedy.

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Moral Panic or Lonely Women’s Age-Gap Rage? (youtube.com)
‘Creepy.’ ‘Gold diggers with a daddy complex.’

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Modern Activities That Are No Longer Worth The Money (youtube.com)
Sports in general, ticket prices, equipment costs. UNC $2500 (although it outprices others by $2k). Concerts. Disney.

$372 to go bowling as a group in California.

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Streaming Was A Mistake... (youtube.com)
‘Piracy is the answer’. The answer to piracy, btw, will be cable.

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Cannes Selects Film on Gaza Photographer Fatma Hassona; A Day Later, She's Killed in Israeli Strike (youtube.com)
Thousands of jobs at risk in Hollywood as studios pivot production elsewhere (youtube.com)
Hollywood used to be like a dream, going to Hollywood and making it as a star. Now it's more like a nightmare, accusations, cancelling, studios that only mass-produce childrens movies about violence and nothing else.

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“One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This”: Omar El Akkad on Gaza & Western Complicity (youtube.com)
‘It’s my tax money that's killing those Palestinians. I'm doing this.'

‘It's very difficult to find someone today who will tell you they were always in support of South Africa and Apartheid. Or segregation in [the US]. Once it’s safe enough, everyone can go back in hindsight and talk about how awful it was.'

‘I happen to live on the launching side of the missiles, and as a result it’s easy for me to look away.'

Speaks maybe well. Put him on a list maybe?

‘When the last Palestinian journalists have been killed maybe there will never have been any Palestinian journalists at all.’ Why does this remind me of Solzenetzin?

He was a journalist.

‘One morning I woke up, and I found an audio recording of a Palestinian girl begging for her life before the car she was in was shot at least 355 times by Israeli soldiers, and then I read a column from a columnist who was scared about protesters at college campuses, and I can’t use the word ‘fear’ to describe both those situations. ... [or] that word has no meaning at all. ... I am watching Palestinian journalists give their lives to report this information. And they are the sole source of news about what is happening in a killing field. And then I'm watching columnists and reporters on this side of the world essentially pretend those folks don't exist, because hey it's contronversial, and maybe they're linked to Hamas and all of that.'

‘While I’m watching such fundamental failures of journalism, I'm also watching some of the best examples of journalism in the world.'

...

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Ms. Rachel breaks silence on Gaza posts amid calls for DOJ investigation (youtube.com)
Stopantisemitism group went after her, saying she might be being paid by some pro-Hamas group or something.

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"A new age of shamelessness" | Slavoj Žižek on Trump, authoritarians and "the new left" (youtube.com)
Trump accelerated a change that was coming anyway, they say.

History was on the said of Trump, in 2016.

Europeans were smug and wanted US to pay for its defense.

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The UK’s Pubs Crisis Explained (youtube.com)

NBA sales down. Rules all relaxed. No creativity in the play. Social Media is the highest of any league. Used to be raw, trashtalk, no free layups, no one helping you off the ground. Best offense now is just chucking 3s, and layups, since that's what analytics says is the most effective for points. A luxury sport, where players have private coaches, AAU circuits, elite training camps. No hand contact, no forearm, so smaller players can just run around and find a shot. Used to be free to watch games, now expensive, and you don't even get all the games. The game loses its unpredicability. No defense. Load managemnt, the teams rest their best players some games. No one goes hard at the other guys. Players focussed on business relationships, branding.

2s worth 3, 3s worth 4.

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Piracy Might Be The Only Way To Fight Back... (youtube.com)
‘I bought it 15 years ago and they unpurchased it from me.’

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Behind Japan's Rise of Anti-Foreigner Sentiment (Pt.1) (youtube.com)
The government of Japan (and tourism industry, assumably) is still pushing for more immigration, despite the negative effect they're causing their citizens. CREAM.

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Trump Insiders Launch MILLIONAIRES CLUB for Favor Trading (youtube.com)
Trump memecoin as an economic indicator. Buy a lot of Trump memecoin, you get a dinner with maybe Trump (corruption? profiteering? graft? p2p?).

‘Executive Branch’ club in Washington, invite-only club with $500k fee, Junion Trump, etc. Party hosted by Sacks. Club already has a wait list. Drain the swamp?

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PewDiePie Made a Linux Ricing Video?!? (youtube.com)
Pewdiepie's vid should have been from 2010, but it's from 2025. Anyway, it has 4.5m views in 3 days, and all the linux guys on YouTube are reposting about it.

People

December
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WikiLeaks' Julian Assange Sues Nobel Panel Over Peace Prize to Machado | WION (youtube.com)
First anything from Assange since.

He said that the nobel chair members converted a peace pricze into an instrument of war.

Assange Just Put the Nobel Peace Prize on Trial (youtube.com)

Assange SUES Nobel Foundation For Awarding Venezuelan WARMONGER (youtube.com)

Julian Assange: Sweden broke own laws with Nobel Prize to Venezuela's Machado - The Grayzone (thegrayzone.com)

The Wikileaks founder pointed to the “ample public statements… showing that the U.S. government and María Corina Machado have exploited the authority of the prize to provide them with a casus moralis for war,” adding that the explicitly stated purpose of the war sought by Machado and her wealthy Latin American backers would be “installing her by force in order to plunder $1.7 trillion in Venezuelan oil and other resources.”

However, she says that there was an election in Venezuela, she won, and she is seeking that the election be enforced.

July
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For a while, a few months, Trump ‘didn’t care about the stock market,' but now that the S&P is at new highs, he quotes the market regularly publicly.
June
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Trump-Musk row explodes as billionaire claims President named in Epstein files | BBC News (youtube.com)
Telsa down 14% on news EV subsidies will be cut from budget. He's still the richest person, reportedly.

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Who has the most to lose as the world's richest man and the US president fall out? | DW News (youtube.com)
Play by play.

Trump now considering ending Tesla's government contracts (EV mandate in Cali especially valuable). Musk calling for Trump to be impeached and replaced by Vance, but this is sort of inferred.

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Musk vs. Trump? Quinn Slobodian on the Risks of Billionaire Rule (youtube.com)
Trump said that Musk was fine with everything up until Trump said they'd cut the EV mandate thing (which would cost Tesla millions). Well, I guess if Trump didn't say he was going to do that until the very last week or a few days before Musk left, after Musk did all that DOGE work for the White House (and for Musk himself), although Trump said Musk ‘knew for months’ Trump was going to take away the mandate. ‘I’m very disappointed in Elon. I've helped Elon a lot,' said Trump.

Musk wrote that ‘In light of the President's statement about cancellation of my government contracts, @SpaceX will begin decommissioning its Dragon spacecraft immediately'. Decommissioning would mean the astronauts currently on the ISS would be stranded, since there is currently no other way to transport them.

In another possibility, it could be that word Trump was in the Epst files was going to come out anyway, and they arranged to preempt it this way.

May
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Meta Is Recruiting Former Pentagon Officials As It Ramps Up Military Ambitions (youtube.com)
Bye, Zuck. Thought you might be becomming ethical, even just a bit, with the exercizing and all. Never bet on an adult who didn't make moral decisions when he was young. Maybe it can happen, but I'm not sure I've seen it happen.

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Elon Musk's farewell press conference with President Trump (youtube.com)
Look how far Trump has gotten. You can tune in just to watch an example of how a president behaves. For a generation coming of political age, this will be their first and only example of what a president is.

The friends and family I've mentioned before, who can't even bear to watch a second of Trump because the idea of him has been poisoned for them by constant exposure to liberal media (NPR, 6 O'clock news) are really missing out.

April
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Will Trump’s tariffs cause global economic crash? | Robert Kaplan | Fourcast (youtube.com)
'Trump can use a smartphone ... but he doesn't read books, and he never has. So by not reading books, how can he know about the origins of the Western alliance? or of the treaty alliances in the Pacific, which were 80 years ago. ... So he's reduced to brutal territoriality. You know, take Greenland because it's an extension of North America, make Canada subservient.' (I kind of found that idea interesting though, the idea of making a ‘Greater North America’.

‘He’s not serious enough to be' a tyrant or ideologue or someone like Lenin.

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Haberman reacts to Trump playing golf as stocks plunge (youtube.com)

Forbes is still doing a great job in their coverage of Trump, by doing no reporting, which they're not really known for, but by just uploading the entire interviews, and Trump, I think the American people are probably really appreciating, he doesn't seem to lie to them, or calculate his statements, except to try to avoid legal trouble etc. I think other people would just use short answers or not want to answer, if it were something they'd answered before, but he seems to take every question as though it was question number one, and as if he'd never spoke on it before.

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Trump admin exploring deporting US citizens convicted of violent crime (youtube.com)
Fair to say that this is the kind of thing turning serious people agains him, as this is clearly authoritarian and not considerate of rights. It would be clear authoritarianism to export a citizen to a foreign land. Trump still is doing very well on many things, although you wouldn't believe it reading headlines (instead, you watch the Forbes raw footage of the gaggles and various question periods where he talks straight for half an hour at a time), but it would be good if he had some counsellors who could give like a mini course on rights and law.

Products

December
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YouTube Demonetized Me. (youtube.com)
‘For talking about ’YouTube ads are out of control.' They said he violated the ‘adult content policy’.

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Are we headed for a worldwide shortage of RAM? (youtube.com)

This december, basic things ordered on Amazon, like cables and paper, have like a 3 week delivery date. Instead of the wait of a few days like people had become accustomed to.

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The device you've been waiting for! (youtube.com)
MeshOS, low bandwidth, offgrid, standalone, runs on ESP32p4 from expressif. Standalone LoRa. The new more powerful chip clears up the issues of previous attempts to make it run just like.

MeshOS, can be customized.

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The Future Authoritarian City (youtube.com)
Controlled cities, not just gated communities.

November
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Wikipedia Co-Founder on Polarization, AI, and Elon Musk’s Grokipedia | Amanpour and Company (youtube.com)
Skeptical an AI one could work. ‘The thing we do know about LLMs is that they can’t really be trusted...' ‘They like to please you, and they can definitely be highly ideologically biased, depending on how you’ve trained them.'

‘In our community, we have these really long intense debates about editorial matters, like the exact wording of sentences, like they’re often carefully crafted by people who disagree. How can we find a compromise that we can all accept as being factual?'

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YouTube (youtube.com)

Seems like Apple might be ceding their AI business to Google. Google AI will be in iPhones.

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The engineer causing a storm with his playgrounds | 7.30 (youtube.com)
'The precariatiy is, like, basic fear to keep you engaged, you're really present because you're like All right I'm going to figure this out.' ‘We know that as a society we need to be more adaptable, more nimble, and we need challenges to achieve that.’ When a child climbs a precarious thing, they reach out, they give the next handle a yank, they internally risk assess. All the age groups are included in his installations. 'We shouldn't be designing spaces that alienate people. Good evidence helps designers, builders, lawmakers, councilworkers deliver better things for the public.'

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It's Not Just Shein: Why Are ALL Your Clothes Worse Now? (youtube.com)
Everything affordable and just a little s****r than you want it to be. The loose threads, 100% synthetic fabric, fabric doesn't feel nice.

Nothing fits properly, and clothes don't last.

Seems normal if everything is bought online, not tested before buying in a store. And if they're from just wherever, and not from a brand (store).

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How a North Texas mother is ensuring her child can call her in an emergency (youtube.com)
NFC keychains. The NFC chip inside the keychain requires a ‘tap’ with a phone to get the data. So why not just write the info on the tag?

Anyone can make them with a 3d printer.

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'Moment of Resurgence' for Web Browsers, Says Mozilla CEO (youtube.com)
As a category. Atlas, Comet. The interface is a bit clunky seeming now, so they might remove things from that.

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NEW Universal USB Type C Mod to Restore your older devices! (youtube.com)
Replace the microUSB in older devices by just soldering replacing with this USBC.

Heat gun to detach the old microUSB.

Without installing supports for the new USBC, it might disconnect after use.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CYRp41p7bow
$50 a gram.

From power tools to pickleball sets, the newest 'Library of Things' has something for you (youtube.com)

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kickstarter.com
Their kickstarter, $7m raised against ther $50k target

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Arduino Goes Full Anti-consumer (youtube.com)
Is the only solution home circuitboard printers? or at least community level factories?

Only way may be for these boards to be made by a government agency which is then bound to certain rules.

The Qualcomm purchase is outlined in this video, and it's about as bad as it could be.

Don't use any platform you can't control 100%. Don't upload contributions to anything that could one day be sold.

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BuildList: Your Personal Online Factory (youtube.com)
Allowing you to get custom parts made for electronics.

October
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Qualcomm just bought Arduino, and they're making a tiny computer (youtube.com)
Why would Qualcomm want Arduino?

Will they abandon Linux support in a couple years?

Will they maintain Arduino's education and tinkering focus, or push into the more lucrative industrial space?

More pro products do fund the less profitable educational products, he noted, in some companies that want to do so.

Lots of people have noted in recent months, there is massive widescale consolidation of ownership in many industries these days.

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Why Starbucks Sucks Now (youtube.com)

75 or 80 now have digital nomad visa programs.

September
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When you're on the Amazon website, you don't get to see who's wares you get to see, the algorhythm chooses that. If two people standing beside each other both search for the same product term, they will get different results, because the algorhythm searches to protect the maximum rent. That is not a market. Cloud rent, not ground rent.

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Capitalism is over | Yanis Varoufakis on digital dictators and techno-feudal economics (youtube.com)

It's different from medeival feudalism. Bezos was not born into it. His company invests, it is a capital enterprize, but it's goal is to create a new kind of rent which resembles feudal ground rent but is based on capitalism. Technofeudal lords.

‘Why should taxi drivers subscribe to Uber and have so much value taken away from them and sent to the Cayman Islands?’ Why can't the community government have an app so AirBNB doesn't get a percent of everything that rents there?

August
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Samsung TV update locks users out of app unless they pay again & calls it an "error" (youtube.com)
That's what you get if you have a smart TV. They can do what they want to your TV and to your living room.

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Could We Lose Rick Beato from YouTube? Come On Now: It's Gone Too Far. (youtube.com)
Isn't it better to just let YouTube become what it's corporate nature wants, so everyone can move somewhere else? Currently, everyone's unhappy but sitting on the fense, not ready to move along.

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This Record Label Is Trying To SILENCE Me (youtube.com)
Beato used to happily just block/ban people from his channel when he didn't like their comments. I don't know if he still does this.

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Our Channel Could Be Deleted (youtube.com)
GamersNexus. I don't know them.

How many out there are just hoping all these popular channels do get banned/deleted, so they have to produce content elsewhere, and be free from all those considerations, while they will of course make less money.

July
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Microsoft Will Let You Trade Privacy for Windows 10 Updates (youtube.com)
The establishment of Windows on near 100% of PCs must be one of the worst things allowed to happen. People have no capacity to switch away.

May
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‘Juiced’ athletes have a new home; Enhanced Games to kick off in 2026 (youtube.com)
Thiel is among investors. Normalize enhancement in competition and in everyday life?

Is this what ‘serious’ athletes are seeking out?

Sprinting, swimming, and weightlifting.

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What To Avoid When Choosing A Smart Home Device | Incognito Mode | WIRED (youtube.com)

Sacks was back on the All In podcast as a regular host this week. Hasn't happened (he's just dropped in briefly and was very controlled during those visits) since his appointment as Crypto Czar.

April
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New $20,000 EV Takes Aim At Tesla (youtube.com)
A small pickup with optional roller windows (non electric). Also, prehaps, no tracking?

Chief Editor's Journal

March week 2, next Democrats
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1. I forget right now
2. Ambush of Zelensky, appeasement of Putin
3. AP not allowed into White House because of ‘Gulf of Mexico'.
4. Republican senators do insider trading, and otherwise become wealthy (how?)

These are the 4 things I've seen so far that have emerged from Trump's actions and policy, that could be causes for the next Democrat movement. Before a few weeks ago, since November or before I had not seen any flaws in anything he said or did. Of course, we also will see political, democratic grandstanding about Canada and Mexico our allies etc, using emotion etc.
November
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For X.com, how about 'Xpress' instead of 'tweet'? Like, 'That was what he Xpressed today,' or 'She sent an Xpress about it.'

That said, I have found myself using 'Xwitter' and 'Xweet'.

Setting up the site, I linked to an old Twitter profile. I tried to create a subreddit just so people could discuss current events there and we could get feedback, but it was banned within a couple minutes, with no explanation. Since it only had the headlines, my only real suspicion could be that it was censoring for the word 'Israel'. I didn't bother with Facebook because I've had accounts banned for similar reasons, or when people just spam report a page because they don't agree politically, and I gave up putting any real content on the platform about 7 years ago. It's just not worth the effort of creating new Facebook profiles, or even new groups, so censorship against normal sources of information can easily and successfully be accomplished on Facebook. X I'm not sure yet, as it's owner is philosophically and has been activist pro-free speech, but is currently increasingly allied politically, which means increasing political and lobby pressures, and there are no new platforms that actually have measures to protect (a real, reliable on a long term with meaninful auto-accountability for the people working at the platform) normal people who are publishing things. Currently looking for a platform, similar to reddit, where we could get feedback and discussion on the topics we blog about.

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