Law

September 1, 2026 - Comedians V. TSA, AI-generated bills, Evidence versus Flock
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Police Demanded A Password; It Deleted The Phone (youtube.com)

From the LgalEagle, who seems a bit subjugated anyway.

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Comedians’ Lawsuit Ends Jetway Seizures in Atlanta (youtube.com)

If no one had opposed TSA there, if no one had stood up, it would just continue and increase. But because someone resisted and fought back, it ended fairly easily.

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AI could be used to generate bills that may become laws. Here are the concerns. (youtube.com)

Isn't that the point at which AI/technology is in direct competition with people for control over people?/society

August 1, 2026
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California prison guard held hostage, raped by inmate sues CDCR (youtube.com)

The guard is suing CDCR. Shouldn't anyone, while deprived of their ability to protect themselves and confined

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Mother charged with manslaughter after baby choked on popcorn kernel (youtube.com)

What is going on in US law? Isn't it bad enough this happened? There was a case about a baby dying of obesity-related stuff too and they charged the two parents (who did not appear particularly educated or thin).

In this case, the government is charging her saying that binge drinking alcohol 'created an unjustifiable risk.'

And giving the babies popcorn was 'conscious disregard for a known choking hazard for young children.'

The government says she can't be relied on to return to court so they're holding her in jail on $250k bail.

Is the state 'negligent' for millions of crimes because it continues to sell alcohol? Nope, because it has all the force.

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Retired judges take part in march, citing threat to rule of law in America (youtube.com)

They're doing a tour throughout the state, having conversations with the public about the threat to Rule of Law.

They don't like threats from state and federal levels, degrading judicial independence. If the public believes the judiciary is partisan it might simply resort to trial by combat, one told the journalist.

'Judges are making decisions and lots are saying, "Did they do it because a political party wanted them to do it?"'

Lots has to do with Birthright Citizenship.

Something similar happened in Poland recently.

50% of Americans strongly or somewhat disapprove of the Supreme Courts work, and then lots 'aren't sure.'

Credibility is all judges have, they raised this point.

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EU says threats against ICC 'unacceptable' as US launches campaign to 'dismantle' court (youtube.com)

It would be nice if EU could support its argument by citing some cases where it was strong and just and useful, not just where it controversially persecuted politicians in weak countries. Mostly just Africa, as everyone knows.

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How I Made This Streetwear Brand Crash Out (youtube.com)

DCMA isn't proving itself useful or beneficial. YouTube, Twitter, Etsy, etc allow you (a random, lying, thieving corporation) to flag someone else (who is the actual artist or owns usage rights) for copyright and they (the actual artist) gets their account blocked or taken down until they (the actual artist) manually and painstakingly addresses it, if they even can, with the giant platform. While they (the actual artist) have to address every illegal use of their work individually (this is not made one-click automated).

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Andrew and Tristan Tate arrested in US over new UK charges | BBC News (youtube.com)

Want to control people? Just form mutual law enforcement treaties with other countries, then one can put any charges they want.

July 1, 2026
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My Thoughts On The Fender Controversy (youtube.com)

Fender continuing its long fight to establish how lame it is.

It has long been established that Fender doesn't own the style of guitar.

After the lawsuit, 'People don't want to play Fender guitars. People don't want to be seen with Fender guitars.' I agree. Much more likely to wear a 'F*** Fender' sticker than play one, even if someone gave me one of the top of the line ones that cost a few thousand.

'It's amazing how toxic they are.'

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MSN (msn.com)

"Viral extortion campaign" or legitimate viral fued over money owed?

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Cops Arrest Him, He's Released, Then Cops Arrest Him AGAIN For Asking For His Property (youtube.com)

There might be a bit of confusion about what police are supposed to do, what they can do, what they should do. Perhaps partially because there is disagreement between different locations and levels of government. And because of a changing set of laws, of which there are hundreds of thousands, and procedures, of which there are different sets of books.

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Freeze, Flight, Fight - Fawn? (Trauma Responses) (youtube.com)

Psychology, should it be barred from the legal system?

He notes that hundreds of people went to prison in the early 90s (did he mean in the 80s) for 'recovered memories', caused by therapists and psychologists who were interested in an idea (unproven, unscientific) that certain behaviours that they thought they saw in their patents were connected to childhood sexual abuse, so they somehow led their patients to 'remember' things that never happened and become convinced of them. He notes the current fad, 'trauma', which is not scientific and is wrong, because it applies to everything (everything can be trauma. If she responds by leaving, it can be trauma. If she responds by staying, it can be trauma. If she hates the man, it can be trauma. If she professes her love and admiration for him, it can be trauma) so you know immediately the theory is therefore false. But it is in the legal system and is the basis for convictions.

He considers how pernicious fads like 'trauma' are because it has reached the point that in court, police and lawyers don't even bother with facts anymore, since they don't matter, and focus on the perhaps-victim's subjective experience, her perhaps-fantasy, because if they challenge her, if they investigate, they can be seen as doing wrong, furthering harm to her, treating a victim wrongly. The police, the courts, the judge, the therapists, and even friends and associates. You can see how the contamination spreads and takes over. And because the status of being a 'victim' feels good and comes with power (no one challenges what you say or want to do), it wants to feed itself more victim status.

Now all these professionals are 'trauma-informed.' But this idea of 'trauma' is myth, not facts, he says.

It will also be very hard to reverse this, because if you try to explain this to people, good chance is they themselves are one of these 'victims' or have been at some point, or have taken advantage of the leverage of being one, or are a politician who has used 'victims' and the 'victim' dynamic to justify some policy or spending. You become less and less likely to be able to find people who are not already complicit, so who would work to reverse 'victimhood'? Even if you find one, you have to find enough for consensus or majority.

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Tyra Banks sues Netflix over 'America's Next Top Model' documentary, alleging defamation (apnews.com)

'In the lawsuit filed Saturday in Los Angeles federal court, the model who created and hosted "America's Next Top Model" said she was interviewed for 3 1/2 hours, during which she took responsibility for some of the show's controversial decisions. Those interviews were edited down to 16 minutes and manipulated "to support a false and defamatory narrative unrelated to what she actually expressed," the lawsuit said.' ... 'The lawsuit contends that the producers of the Netflix docuseries used "selective editing, deliberate omission, and surgical manipulation of continuous footage" to formulate a narrative that Banks allowed a contestant to be sexually assaulted on the show, used the contestant's trauma to drum up ratings and then couldn't remember it when asked during the interviews.'

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Judge Rips Gilgo Killer as Court Erupts in Applause (youtube.com)

The commenters define 'rabble'. They seem to celebrate this outburst from the judge.

Showing off? Isn't a judge's job to be control himself and be professional, not emotional, and leave the outbursts to the citizens? Otherwise the confidence of the citizens in the ability to be responsible of the judge has to come into question, doesn't it?

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CHILLING moment inmates follow child killer into cell before MURDERING him and TUCKING HIM UP IN BED (youtube.com)

The prison doesn't separate types of inmates. Reportedly, they've had a few murders recently.

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Prairieland Nine: Texas ICE Protesters Get Up to 100 Years in Prison as Trump Targets Anti-Fascists (youtube.com)

The tribal, ruling class and its agents versus the citizens who used to have a Constitution. People have noted that America is no longer the Democratic, people-owned State it once was (although criticized then too), evidenced by laws that create special, more stringent punishments for crimes against the State and its agents. Special crimes for harms (and lying?) to federal agents, showing that they are higher members of the State than regular citizens, and that the State protects them more than it protects regular citizens. These types of laws also become focal points and rallying points for anti-State movements.

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Detroit judge holds parents accountable for teen curfew violations (youtube.com)

Teens violating Detroit's curfew. So, there's no actual criminal activity? Just being outside?

They're fining parents a few hundred dollars because their children are 'walking outside of the presence' of their parents after 11pm (10pm for people under 16).

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Exclusive: Plaintiff has filed 160 lawsuits alleging website chats violated Florida wiretapping law (youtube.com)

Could affect any business that uses an AI chatbot for customer service.

The customer asked if they shipped and if they shipped to Hawaii. Because the chatbot saved the chat on a server.

It's one lawfirm that has filed the 160 claims in the past year, some say they are 'strike suits' asking for $2000 from each defendant.

The lawyer said judges have found for the defendant in the past, and businesses need to warn people when they are recording them (using the chatbot).

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What to know about Harvey Weinstein's cases after a rape charge was dropped (apnews.com)

'His accuser supported Thursday's decision, which puts an end to one piece of a landmark #MeToo-era prosecution.' 'He denies the allegation, and his lawyers said the encounter was part of a consensual, yearslong relationship. Mann testified that in the early months of that relationship, Weinstein raped her after cornering her in a Manhattan hotel room, grabbing her arms and ignoring her repeated pleas not to have sex.'

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'Noise Cameras' Issues Millions of Dollars Worth of Tickets in NYC (youtube.com)

$40,000 per camera. It's for vehicles that make noise and play music loud. The city said that the only complaint they've gotten from citizens about the cameras is they want more of them. Noise complaints continue to rise from 300k to 700k reports in a couple years.

June 1, 2026
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Maryland Becomes First State To Ban Dynamic (old.reddit.com)

Musk and Altman in court. ... Musks arguemtn so far is getting headlines for the language that Altman 'stole a charity'. Altman's team is arguing that Musk didn't sue soon enough after he knew Altman was taking OpenAI away from it's open organization and only sued once OpenAi had success and was a competitor to Grok.

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The You Own The Data Act Yoda Was Introduced On (old.reddit.com)

When you accept the package, you become a verified buyer automatically, and the scammer can use your verified buyer status to create fake reports for products on websites. Ie they created a buyer account and put your address, and after receiving a package at your/their address they can review products.

If you receive one, it means likely your data is compromised, so do another check.

The scammer knows the name on the address is legit, so they may use it more.

Sometimes the envelopes/packages are empty, sometimes they have little objects in them like baseballs.

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DeSantis signs bill pushing tougher rules on large-scale data centers (youtube.com)

Why is it so easy and quick that governors etc can pass laws to stop data centers, but can't do anything, no matter how much time, with civil rights? or even protections against big tech?

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EP#211 | She Found The Lie (youtube.com)

After people (men) are exonerated of charges (found not guilty), they still have a record on Google and news sites that they were charged with this. And afterwards, there's nothing about the aquittal or withdrawal on the news articles afterwards. They, for their clients, are contacting the news agencies and having them edit these.

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I've never seen judicial interference like in Murdaugh case: Judge Andrew Napolitano (youtube.com)

External influences on the jury. He's getting a retrial but will remain behind bars during the retrial.

The court clerk, while moving the jurors between places, was telling them not to believe the accused, he would probably lie. She pled guilty and was sentences to 1 year probation ('only' said Napolitano).

May 1, 2026
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Confronting the CEO of the AI company that impersonated me | Decoder (youtube.com)

One option for settlement could be a public interview of 1 hour.

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Steve Bannon wins Supreme Court order likely to lead to dismissal of contempt of Congress conviction (apnews.com)

Originally convicted for refusing to testify to Congress. The Congress was investigating Jan 6. After his original conviction he served a 4-month prison term (for Contempt of Congress).

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BREAKING NEWS: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis Signs Anti-Sharia Law Legislation Into Law (youtube.com)

It seems BC, Canada's provincial government is preparing to do legislation about Native's land rights, and they're thinking about when would be the most political time to have the talks. Was the entire 'letting' native bands claim already-owned city property over the past couple months a political move to cook the climate to their desired temperature before doing this?

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French MPs introduce bill to remove statute of limitations for crimes against children • FRANCE 24 (youtube.com)

Currently, the statue is 30 years after they turn 18. Kind of one-sided coverage, France24?

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BREAKING: Trump Signs Executive Order On Psychedelic Drugs With Joe Rogan As Iran Shuts Hormuz (youtube.com)

Headlines have it Joe Rogan is against Trump. But if you've ever seen Joe Rogan, it's super unlikely he'd ever be against anyone. He probably disagrees with some policies of the White House, which maybe suspect Trump disagrees with also. Anyway, Trump so far has been willing to go and do a deal with people who have spoken against him in the past, called him names, and also people who Trump has in the past called names and disparages, we've seen them work with Trump afterwards.

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Justice Clarence Thomas issues WARNING in rare address (youtube.com)

Fox. 'Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas warns that the rise of progressivism poses one of the greatest threats to America today.'

Cynicism, rejection, hostility, and animus toward the US and its ideals, the sentiment more common.

'Others with power and animus could treat us as unequal, but they lacked the divine power to make us so.'

Those truths were self-evident to most of the adults in our lives.

People all around claiming some righteous cause. Recast themselves as instututionalists, after they gain power and like all the things they now have which they never could have before, and facing their failures in moral decisions, they justify themselves this way. It's easier to do nothing than to do the right thing. America lacks people willing to do what it takes, to sacrifice popularity and comfort.

'We do not derive our rights from our government.' 'Our government derives its legitimacy and authority from our consent.'

'None of our rights come from the government. All of the government's authority comes from our consent.'

Government must not exceed the authority to which we have consented.

'Progressivism is retrogressive.'

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Massive Charter victory: Court strikes down woods ban! (youtube.com)

NS government prohibited all outdoor activities on pretext of preventing forest fires. Hiking, camping, smoking.

For walking in the woods, the NS government fined this guy $28k.

'The minister when imposing this draconian total ban on walking in the woods had not even considered Charter rights and freedoms.'

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Law will soon require many NYC businesses to replace roll-down gates (youtube.com)

Will cost little businesses $10k to replace their current regular gates, which work well, with gates that are 70% transparent. If you think graffiti is bad on metal gates (which is the government's reason to replace the metal ones), wait till the spray is on the glass, right? Shop owners are worried people will break their glass.

Maybe anyone in government could be required to keep a certain percentage of their assets in a shop like this, and have to maintain it.

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Crypto mogul sues Trump family venture over alleged fraud (youtube.com)

He says the (Trump family) company froze his investment in order to pressure him to promote the company's offerings.

April 1, 2026
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Teen scientist's experiments spark FBI probe in Irvine (youtube.com)

Not allowed to return home, now for 7 days and counting. He has not been charged. Reportedly, it was rubbing alcohol that attracted the Feders.

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Should Smear Campaigns Be Criminalized? (youtube.com)

Should smear campaigns be criminalized? With modern tech, 'The damage they cause is incalculable.'

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Japan's 'Samurai Duel' Strategy Against False Harassment Claims Sounds Crazy – But It's Spreading (youtube.com)

In 3 years, 6000 cases, and 80% have been false accusations. Because they are financially motivated.

Defamation can be 3 years. A fight can be 15 days. So men when a woman starts yelling sekuhara, they 'duel' with the woman using their briefcase but only hitting not weak body parts of the woman.

The video has some other stories about double standards for actions in asia (obviously, always punishing men for the same actions that women enjoy doing to men).

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EP#203 | Can You Trust Digital Evidence? Screenshots, Metadata & AI Fakes (youtube.com)

You can't really trust witness testimony evidence often, either, so where does that leave us?

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Her Boyfriend Was Completely Vindicated (youtube.com)

Women dragging their men to couples therapy in order to weaponize therapy and then outsource blame to a licenced referee, he says.

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Federal judge says he was doxxed ahead of warrantless arrest hearing (youtube.com)

A court case against ICE.

Because his info was put online publicly, he was less likely to have ICE agents info known publicly, it seems. But it was more than that. Someone posted his photo, that his 'court loves illegal immigrants', and invited immigrants to go to his house. 'I don't want to force that on anyone,' he said about having his ID public on Social Media.

ICE agents were allowed to testify without giving their names, only initials.

Note this isn't about having his name public. He is a public judge. It's something else that happens when a person is published on social media in a certain way.

Why wasn't this compromised judge replaced by another judge who was more brave or had less to violate by social media anonymous beligerants? Most judges aren't public figures, they're more like public servants, but some are bombastic and like publicity, and those could be the ones that handle such cases.

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Afroman speaks after winning civil lawsuit (youtube.com)

Afroman said it was a free speech case.

But isn't this a wrong use of a person's image, not because he defamed the police, because the jury found he didn't defame his rep, but simply because he used a person's image to promote his product and make money from it?

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EP#204 | The Hidden Crisis of False Accusations (youtube.com)

NoR.

Do those two last topics go with this one? Why Nobody is Having Sex Anymore (& why it matters) - Dr Debra Soh (youtube.com) and this? César Chavez Day events renamed, postponed or canceled after sexual abuse allegations (apnews.com) (any time you want to cancel a celebratory day, or cancel a person's career reputation, just make some sexual allegations (as long as its a man)).

I know a lot of men who just won't date (or even talk to) Western women, because you just don't know what they'll do, maybe they'll shame you right away for talking to them, maybe they'll be the coolest girl but in 5 years they'll use laws and feminine leverage to destroy you just because you broke up. Other countries don't have that problem because there are no laws girls can use to do that, and because, perhaps since it's mostly men in the courts, girls making wild claims don't tend to go anywhere. Instead, girls are forced to take responsibility for their actions and just don't do risky things as much. But in a lot of these other countries feminism and the set of ideas does seem to be starting to grow, so there'll be no where guys want to date girls, maybe. The biggest takeaway may simply be that women shouldn't be allowed in power. We'd like it to be otherwise, we supported equal rights and opportunities, but you have to be realistic about what happens after someone is in power. Or maybe it's just a new thing, women got power, they made pro-woman laws which harmed everyone else and were ignorantly reckless with society, and they'll get cleaned up naturally and things will settle down in a more historically normal state of affairs.

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Supreme Court of Canada case over Facebook and privacy law: What you should know (youtube.com)

Consent needs to be 'meaningful.' It can't be 'passive' and it needs to be 'informed.'

Because privacy takes a long time to make its way through our courts, and since big tech companies work at speed (in fact their slogan is 'move fast break things'), should we have another court for big tech specifically, because a 3 or 5 year case is essentially ineffective in upholding law in these cases?

The same could be said about the rules that only ask tech companies to allow you to turn off anti-privacy settings, since they make those hard to find in their app, and then just change the interface regularly and reset your settings. Obviously, this is counter-problem solving.

The US 'has no federal privacy protection.'

Canada's privacy commissioners may be helpful in articulating concerns, have no power over enforcement or fines, unlike Europe.

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Jury finds Elon Musk liable for misleading investors ahead of Twitter acquisition (youtube.com)

Commenter. 'She just saved someone's life.' 'She probably prevented at least one felony a week for the next 25 years.' '@SuperbadMotorsports My people are too emotional. His family is responsible. Their rage is misplaced and too late.'

Makes me curious about her other cases and sentencing.

However, given that (if true) he likes to jump people in prison, she's kind of putting the burden and risk on that population.

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How the Legal System Is Ruining Plants (youtube.com)

Copyright is for expression. Patent is for invention. Is ownership of genetic strains approved by society? I don't think society was asked.

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Meta & YouTube liable for social media addiction: Jury (youtube.com)

This week in LA (which states could this happen and which would not find for the defendant?) a civil trial found Meta (Facebook and Insta) and Google (YouTube) liable (of negligence, failing to exercise care in designing a product they knew was dangerous, failing to warn parents or kids their product was addictive, that the companies believed their product was addictive).

The jury found they acted with 'malice, oppression, or fraud.'

Zuckerburg and the head of Instagram appeared, and the court found Facebook/Insta 70% liable, YouTube 30% liable. YouTube also argued successfully that it is a video streaming platform, not SM.

The girl, 'Kaley or KGM' used Insta 'intensely'. She started using YouTube at 6 and Insta at 9 and testified she was on the platforms 'all day long' as a child. The court awarded her $6m. Probably the best paycheck for negligent or poor parenting I've heard of. There are 2000 similar pending lawsuits, but after this news every parent who bought their kid a tablet instead of discipline and quality time will probably want to get their multimillion check, too.

They argued she developed social media addiction which led to severe depression, suicidal thoughts, body dysmorphia, and social phobia/strained family relationships, ie the same things teenagers had before SM.

The platforms were found to be 'defectively designed' for designing their platforms so users would like them and spend time on them, which seems to be their purpose, doesn't it? Because they have features like infinite scroll, autoplay, and push notifications which cause dopamine effects. I guess it doesn't matter that these don't force a user to stay on the platform, but since we're in an era of no personal responsibility maybe this is in line. The court seemed to find that the girl had no control over herself in the face of these apps.

The company provided internal documents (emails) that showed execs knew the platforms were 'addictive', whatever that means in this context. What is the difference between enjoyable and addictive?

This case was based on a framing of 'addiction.' And also 'product design', it seems.

This week, Meta also lost a different case in New Mexico, and was ordered to pay $375m. The New Mexico AG blamed Facebook for systemic consumer fraud and child endangerment. The prosecution created fake accounts with a reported age of 14, and found that the algos 'recommended adult predators' to them (? do they mean just that Meta automatically suggests possible friends that are friends of friends or are near them locally?), that the platform was a 'breeding ground' and 'marketplace' for CSE (?).

The AG claimed that while Meta said the platform was safe, internal documents showed execs knew they were failing to stop predators (?). There is a nominal ban on targeting ads at U13, but they still did.

The AG argued that Meta's move toward E2E was to block law enforcement from seeing the companies actions.

So a lot to disagree with. E2E is to protect users, obviously, otherwise their data is not secure, for one thing. Facebook isn't a product that offers a lot to society, but the things the AG went for (and won) are pretty dubious.

Is California basically socialist or communist, now, philosophically or psychologically? Is socialism/communism related to a systemic practice of blaming others and institutional ways to just take people's resources if you come up with a way to blame them, which doesn't have to be a very strong reason?

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Mexico is considering eliminating mandatory pretrial detention (Prisión Preventiva Oficiosa PPO, where instead of a judge deciding if an individual is a flight risk, the judge must send the accused to prison, regardless of evidence even). Protesters are arguing that it is a 'sentence without a conviction' and people have been held in prison for years (some for decades) without being found guilty. So far the Mexican government has resisted removing PPO. Mexico City's Congress (and President Sheinbaum) recently approved a document that expanded the list of crimes that trigger automatic prison (without trial), including an extorsion or synthetic drugs [focus on fentanyl] traficking charge) most famously, but also simple smuggling, tax fraud, and small-scale drug dealing.

Some argue that PPO is also a political weapon. PPO also puts Mexico in conflict with international courts, civil rights organizations.

The list of PPO is pretty inclusive. Homicide, rape, kidnapping, organized crime, violence against minors, human trafficking, burglary of house, cargo theft, corruption, use of explosives or military grade firearms (the fentanyl addition is classed here, it seems, in national security), and the new financial crimes additions (extortion, tax fraud, smuggling).

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C-9 Passes (the House) | MP Andrew Lawton Response, From Parliament (youtube.com)

Comments not pleased. Many voiced hope the Senate would stop the Bill.

It is focused on criminalizing 'hate' speech and 'hate' acts. Illegal to do conduct intended to provoke fear or intentionally obstruct access to buildings for community activities like churches and schools. (Will this mostly be used to persecute protesters? because who else blocks access?) Hate symbols or terrorist symbols in public places (ie the government now decides what symbols mean, not the organic process of society in its pluralism and change). A distinct 'hate crime offense.' A definition of 'hatred' as an emotion involving detestation and vilification stronger than disdain (so people can no longer even have natural feelings or express them, and if they have such a natural response they must be careful to never show it)?

They removed the 'good faith' religious speech defense, so individuals can no longer freely express opinions on religious subjects in good faith.

Is this just what happens when you don't have a real constitution? Or when you have a citizenry that has basically no education in civics?

As always, these things will probably continue to get worse until some people take a stand, which will cause a public crisis, and people will then have to choose a side, and either the public opinion will split and the country'd have two sides which disagree (requiring authoritarianism by the ruling group) or compromise/tolerance of the new persecuted group (people who speak).

Does this mean a person can be arrested if they say 'I hate you!' or 'I hate that!'? Or only if the thing they hate can claim a separate (or 'minority') group status?

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German deepfake porn case sparks protests and pressure for change in law • FRANCE 24 English (youtube.com)

She suspects her husband was behind deepfakes of her dating back 10 years. He says he is being publicly maligned/defamed. There have been no charges against him.

In Germany, sharing "disseminating" deepfakes is illegal, but production of them isn't.

March 1, 2026
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Kitchener homeowner ordered to pay up after snow removal crew called (youtube.com)
Canada.
Commenter. 'How is the city talking about our sidewalks being cleared to the pavement. When in this video you can see all the roads not even clean to the pavement. There's something clearly going on here....'

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Pricing Like This Should Be Illegal (youtube.com)
Best buy. $439.99. Save $290. Comp value $729.99.

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It might be an idea to legally require stores to offer a product at a price for a certain amount of time (a couple days?) in order to be able to say they ‘reduced’ the price.

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These types of laws are usually written with exemptions and carve outs in them, and they just use those exemptions and carve outs any time they want to do the thing, so the (protective) law doesn't actually have any effect. Bulldoze.

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This law says that such 'exigent circumstances' can't be just for mere convenience, standard city goals, routine law enforcement. So they can't just declare an emergency and use the surveillance all the time. And when the actual emergency stops, the right to surveil stops, and they have to not share any of the data, and delete it. There's a ban on data harvesting.

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'In June 2024, T. was extradited [unlawfully in EU, some say] from Germany to Hungary and has been in solitary confinement in a Budapest prison ever since.' 'The public prosecutor's office accuses the prisoner from Jena, in Germany's eastern state of Thuringia, of assaulting and seriously injuring several people in Budapest in February 2023. '

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'At the start of the criminal proceedings, T. was led into the courtroom in handcuffs and shackles, and on a leash. The public prosecutor's office offered T. the opportunity to enter a guilty plea and accept 14 years in prison without further proceedings. However, T. declined and instead made a six-page statement containing clear criticism of Hungary: "It is a state that quite openly marginalizes and separates people because of their sexuality or gender. I am accused by a European state because I am an anti-fascist."'

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State of Iowa Hires Hackers to ‘Burglarize’ Courthouse (then the sheriff arrives) (youtube.com)
Local sheriff charged them and put them in jail, because he wasn't notified about the contract done by the state. The state didn't come in an release them, it seems, but basically the opposite, until they were proven innocent and they sued the state.

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The NDA would have said he couldn't talk to the media (who he was talking to in this story), he couldn't talk to neighbors, post on any social media, or any public forum.

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Lowe's responded to the news journalists by saying they don't require customers to sign NDAs, instead they gave him a form called a ‘release of all claims.’ Lowe's said the release of all claims form is voluntary, so you don't have to sign it to get a refund. The journalists say show Lowe's their story to help you not have to sign it.

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‘They want to be able to resolve it and then keep it quiet afterwards,' a interviewee said.

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The agreement, if you sign it, is legally binding.

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DC sues ‘slumlord’ family operating real-estate empire, citing RICO (youtube.com)
Because the property owner ‘deceived lenders and let properties fall into disrepair,’ OAC alleges. But also that the property owner is running an enterprize/ponzi scheme with their (the family's?) 70 properties and defaulted the district $16m in housing programs.

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But the OAC rep said ‘ponzi like scheme,’ the landlords ‘use falsified documents to trick lenders into giving them large loans to purchase primarily rent controlled properties under the guise of profitable redevelopment. They then rent these properties to tenants who receive housing subsidies, while allowing the properties to fall into disrepair. ... And while allowing so many apartments to become uninhabitable, they have decreased the overall housing supply.'

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The lawsuit seeks to ban the family from owning any properties in DC, as well as pay back restitutions.

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What are some weird laws in your country that, actually, make a lot of sense?
What are some weird laws in your country that, actually, make a lot of sense?

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No high heels at archaeological sites.

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Supreme Court rules the Postal Service can't be sued, even when mail is intentionally not delivered (apnews.com)
Was part of the finding that the USPS would be a target for countless lawsuits if this one went through?

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The woman in the suit, a landlord, alleges the particular postal worker didn't like that she was a black owner of multiple properties and didn't deliver her mail and her tenants' for that reason.

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She sued USPS only after filing dozens of complaints with postal officials. 1946 Federal Tort Claims Act.

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Woman Lies, Innocent Man Arrested, 47 DAYS in Jail - LAWSUIT (youtube.com)
She put out her message, a warning to parents out there that there are people out there wanting to do this, after saying this man tried to kitnap her child and she had to tear her child out of his hands.

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The lawyer said she's filed claims like this in the past, so it might not be her first lie. She's part of a class action alleging a Lyft driver tried to rape her, says the lawyer.

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There is Walmart security camera footage.

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He was actually there to buy medication. He asked the woman if she knew where the medication is located. She was driving on a skooter thing with her kids on it and one started to fall off and he grabbed the kid and kept it on the bike and then she told the guy where she thought the medicatin might be. After he finds the medication, he later walks by her and showed her and says thanks or something, and he leaves the store. Later, she called 911, the police arrived and talked to her, and they even walked the video footage, but they went after the man, arresting him 2 days later with a warrant, arrested him on the side of the road at gunpoint, having him lay face down on the cement of the road to cuff him, and put him in jail until a court found him innocent. During the trial, the prosecutor ‘couldn’t get the video to play.'

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After his arrest, the story was on the TV news and she ‘told her story' to America. She said she played a ‘terrifying game of tug of war’ for like 10 seconds trying to get her baby. He had no bond, just kept in jail, because the charges were seious and he had ties outside the country. The police report says they watched the video footage before arresting him, and that the police said the footage supports the woman's claim.

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Crime: being a male who interacts with a female in North America? Why do so many males just leave North America? Also, what is the state of justice in America right now, where claims of rape and of child abduction result in punishment for innocent people, as well as permanent and serious damage to their reps. The man could afford the best lawyer, so what if he couldn't? The prosecution wouldn't give the defense the video, and she had to subpoena it from Walmart directly, and she released it to the public and the public was outraged.

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‘Frankly they should be in prison for what they did to this man. That’s how outrageous it is.'

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Commenter. ‘The prosecutor who presented to Grand jury needs to be disbarred. The detective and police department along with the lying woman needs to be sued. The woman also needs some jail time.’

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Are civil rights lawyers one of the main stars of our era?

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Former NASA Engineer files lawsuit against HPD and women after sex assault charges dropped (youtube.com)
He's suing the city of Houston and the women who made the allegations. ‘Egregious miscarriage of justice.’ All kinds of authorities publicly spoke against him and his behaviour, meanwhile, according to his lawyer, as soon as a new DA took office they got a bunch of evidence that exhonerated him, which the old DA had been sitting on. They allege the police failed to turn over evidence to his defense that could help him prove his innocence, as well as ignoring contraditctory statements in the witness allegations. He claims the woman also created a group chat and conspired to get him proescuted.

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He wants compensation for damage to his rep, future career prospects, and emotional distress. ‘The last few years of my life have been scarred by a justice department that was meant to protect me, turned against me.’

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Commenter. 'His name is public. The womens' names are in the complaint. Why weren't their names in the story? Did KPRC try to reach them or their attornies for comment.'

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Chicago drivers could see $70M in refunds over city sticker tickets (youtube.com)
Why are companies allowed to call ingredients ‘chocolate candy’ when it isn't chocolate, and ‘peanut butter creme’ when it is not peanut butter? Why aren't they obliged to say ‘sugar with chocolate flavoring and peanut butter flavoring’?

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Wrong Address Raid Results in $5.7 Million Jury Verdict (youtube.com)&pp=ugUHEgVlbi1VUw%3D%3D" target="_blank">Wrong Address Raid Results in $5.7 Million Jury Verdict (youtube.com)

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q9doso4EYNI
The events happened in 2018. SWAT raided the wrong address, and there were kids aged 4, 8, 11, and 13 in the house and the mother was forced outside in T-shirt and underwear while SWAT did its search. SWAT had a warrant but it was not a no-knock warrant so officers had to announce themselves before entry, which are considered to be more dangerous warrants. There was a civil trial first. They wanted the mayor to testify but the judge said he didn't have to, which some people see as a conspiracy to protect colleages from responsbility. The city had already been found to have not done anything for 50% of all misconduct complaints (ie they get a complaint and don't even investigate it).

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Is it enough that ‘it’s an easy mistake to make' getting the wrong house?

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Taxpayers pay. Everyone feels less secure and less confident in their police and their mayor, right?

February 1, 2026
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Colorado's criminal justice system crippled by massive volume of digital evidence (youtube.com)

Like bodycam footage, dash cams, Ring cams, drones.

They do 200k cases per year at their District Attorney's office. They received 67k videos with 43k hours of footage this year, up almost 100% in a few years.

All 14k officers wear bodycams.

The departments have to buy multiple software licences just to view some of the data. Spending $200k a year for this already.

It also complicates discovery evidence (there are fines if it's not all presented in 30 days or something).

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Man wrongfully convicted of murder ordered to return more than $1M to state (youtube.com)
$50k per year of wrongful imprisonment is the state law, but then there was $7.5 from a lawsuit he filed against the city of Detroit, for officers falsifying evidence.

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Canada's new grocery code of conduct takes effect (youtube.com)
The marketplace had become unpredictable/unfair. Distorted business practices.

This is not an actual law, it is a voluntary code agreed to by grocery stores. It has a dispute resolution formula. ‘If there’s a shortage of a product, there better be a shortage for everybody.'

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San Diego family to receive the largest police settlement in US History (youtube.com)

'Ashley MacIsaac recently had their show cancelled because of an error on Google’s part.
'Apparently, a Google AI summary incorrectly said that he had been convicted of sexual assault, among other things. Naturally, when the concert venue saw it, they shut down the show outright.
'However, MacIsaac theorized to the Canadian Press that Google had mistaken him for some other person in Canada with those charges.
'Now that Google has effectively taken a paycheck out of his pocket and potentially sullied his reputation with misinformation, MacIsaac wants to sue. However, in his online statement, he did clarify that the lawyer would need to take the case on for free, all things considered. “If a lawyer wants to take this on (for free) … I would stand up because I’m not the first and I’m sure I won’t be the last.”
“You are being put into a less secure situation because of a media company – that’s what defamation is,” he continued. “I could have been at a border and put in jail. So something has to be figured out as far as what the AI companies are responsible for…and what they can prevent.”
'Ultimately, the stress from all of this has forced MacIsaac to regroup drastically. He hopes to reschedule the concert at some point. But right now, he’s keeping his head low and assessing how he wants to proceed with the AI situation. Additionally, he’s trying to explain the misinformation to his grandmother. “I’m telling you, this is not a nice place to be,” MacIsaac stresses. “I’m sitting outside my grandmother’s going in for Christmas. This isn’t a conversation I want to have today — ‘Oh, yeah, somebody called me a sex offender.’”

Noisy

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'No one verified the evidence': Woman says AI-generated deepfake text sent her to jail (youtube.com)
They say that prosecutors will have to use some due diligence about evidence before accepting it. ‘We are no longer going to be able to trust what we see in front of us.’

AI forensics.

AI detection software doesn't really detect AI generated.

New digital forgery laws (felony) in Penssylvania.

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Dirty Divorce Attorneys Bringing More Civil Rights Lawsuits (youtube.com)
Sort of secret lawyers paid for by taxes. Their billing is under question. ‘Minors counsel’ have immunity and judicial powers, with no watchdog.

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Judge shuts down horrible Texas age verification law (youtube.com)
To download apps, a law made it through the senate in Texas that you would have to age verify. Even school stuff, calculators, weather apps, could even apply to repos (like Debian). Also updates. Ie not just X rated apps. Under inclusive. Incentivizes over censorship.

‘Once we get into the conversation about Parental controls and Why don’t you just parent your children, it makes me wonder why are we doing this?'

Lawsuit against Surprise for arresting woman at public meeting will move forward (youtube.com)

Uk regulator launches investigation into x over grok sexualised imagery (reuters.com)

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6 prosecutors in Minnesota resign over ICE shooting investigation (youtube.com)
Unless they've banded together to accion a lawsuit against ICE, didn't they just make it easier for ICE?

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Former senator sued under so-called homewrecker law (youtube.com)
In NC, you can sue someone for breaking up a married couple, and 6 other states. ‘Alienation of affection’ claim.

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Matthew McConaughey trademarks himself to fight AI misuse (youtube.com)
His legal team filed applications with the US Patent and Trademark Office, and they would have defined the scope of goods and services the trademarked persona wants to protect (entertainment, advertising, endorsements, training on AI models, voice cloning, deepfakes, licensing control). In US law you have to file in writing. TM fees are like $250 or $350 in the US.

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Trump Says He Will Sue JPMorgan Chase Over Debanking (youtube.com)
Improperly cutting off Trump's access to his banking after Jan 6.

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AI-generated fake evidence is landing people in jail as courts struggle with new technology (youtube.com)
Her ex created a fake text that he used against her in a domestiv violence case. And then another fake one to show she ‘violated her no contact order’.

‘No one could show the metadata. No one could show the text in its original form. Everything was a screenshot.’

Another woman used AI to make a picture of a man she falsely accused of burglarizing and raping her.

AI videos, images, sound, are so real no one can tell, in court. How can judges decide someone's fate based on this? Also, the effect it might have on jurors. But that could go both ways. One, jurors can see something that makes them negatively inclined toward the depicted person, but also jurors could be like ‘I don’t believe any of this.'

AI halucinations also can show up in court. Misunderstanding information. 25% of info sometimes that comes from AI is misinformation.

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BC property owner faces $100,000 in bills after discovery of 2 skulls (youtube.com)
Claimed it was a ‘sacred site’, even though the remains seem to be in a pre 2004 dump of sand. Who would ever report anything to the government? All the commenters say you shouldn't report, for fear of what the government will force, and that already people don't report if they can help it. ... DRIPA, property owners responsible for ‘enormous, unpredictable costs.’ BC does keep a database of archeological sites but doesn't make it available to the public.

The property owner abandoned the project, saying it wouldn't be possible to do anything with this ‘legal limbo’ site. The province and the native band didn't respond to the news for comment.

...

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Border Patrol commander Greg Bovino and some agents expected to leave Minneapolis, AP source says (apnews.com)
‘The state of Minnesota and the cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul sued the Department of Homeland Security earlier this month, five days after Renee Good was shot by an Immigration and Customs officer. The shooting of Alex Pretti by a Border Patrol officer on Saturday has only added urgency to the case.’

Minnesota has over 3000 ICE officers in it.

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OpenAl Showed Up At My Door. Here’s Why They’re Targeting People Like Me (youtube.com)
AI watcdog and activist. Silence critics, no regulation.

Tech industry has set up a bunch of shadow groups/organizations, that do the lobbying for them, and when a bill comes up, they pour lots of money into lobbying, reportedly.

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Lawyers accuse Mexico of breaking law in sending cartel members to US without extradition order (apnews.com)
‘In a press conference on Monday, lawyers for the cartel members asserted they were denied due process because they were sent to the U.S. without an extradition order, which requires a lengthy legal process in Mexico.’

‘“Mexico is currently under intense pressure from the United States. This forces us to seriously question if these decisions are being used to show political results, even if it comes at the expense of due process or the rule of law.”’

Journalism

August 1, 2026
July 1, 2026
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FACT FOCUS: Trump says Obama and Biden spent 'hundreds of millions' on reflecting pool. They did not (apnews.com)

A new branch of news during the past year or two has been just reports on things Trump said and their veracity. It's like a whole news category.

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Scott Pelley Fired From CBS After His Showdown With Leadership (youtube.com)

Seems the company put a new leader in, who is not a journalist, and doesn't have qualifications and maybe not ethics, if the resignation letter is to be believed.

They note that a lot of this CBS mess has been since David Ellison took over Paramount (parent company of CBS) months ago.

Trump has made blunt, disparaging comments about Pelley in an interview.

Some commenters noted that Pelley gets to leave with his integrity.

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Pentagon bars journalists from its press office, saying it has become a 'classified space' (apnews.com)

"The Pentagon Press Office has been redesignated as a Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility due to speechwriters from the Office of the Secretary of War sharing the facility," Valdez wrote. "These speechwriters routinely handle classified material as a result, journalists will no longer be permitted to enter the office space. There's nothing controversial about that."

Commenter. 'There's no law stating that press are required at the Pentagon. They can be briefed by the Whitehouse.'

Another. 'We are at the point now where they aren't even trying to come up with good excuses anymore. Press is kicked out because they had to relocate three speech writers into that space? Really? There's no other spare rooms in the largest government facility in the country? Please'

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The battle in rural America against AI data centres | BBC Americast (youtube.com)

Definitely a topic for journalism, because it touches every level. History, progress, technology, political interests, political dealings, government versus population, current population versus other/broader interests, culture and protest, culture and civil disobedience or actions, effect on general citizenry, laws, use of legal system.

June 1, 2026
May 1, 2026
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A congressman in Mexico City is trying to make an institute for journlaists. Mexico is considered high risk for journalists (although not so much in Mexico City, maybe), but still there are more journalists in Mexico City than any other city (or something). There are lots of newspapers, bloggers, news TV, etc.

He pointed out that as the capital, it should have a position of leading the other states by example.

The institute would guarantee journalists integrity and security, design policies to protect them and secure their access to justice, coordinate with authorities about aggressions (threats, attacks), collect and publish stats, and provide legal and security attention. He also has an idea where the authorities should have 3 hours after a claim of an aggression against a journalist to provide legal accompaniment etc.

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How Media Silences Anti-War Voices (w/ Amy Goodman) (youtube.com)

30 years doing real news, real stories. Since 1996. They were a radio show. Once people heard it, people just wanted more, they wanted to have the show on their channels, they ended up with like 1500. 'We believe you have to go where people are,' whether TV or TikTok. No borders.

'We're going to where the silence is. We're covering stories that the rest of the media maybe has pundits on, if they cover it at all ... It's people describing their unique experiences, and from that we have to make a decision. What laws, what are the practices of our country, and that's how democracy works. Independent media is essential ...'

'When the White House says it's unpatriotic to ask questions, it's precisely when we have to ask questions.'

The distinction (why Goodman was called an 'activist' instead of a 'journalist' is between media that challenges power and media that accommodates power, not actual activism versus journalism.

'The way that it's used is to demean and to marginalize and to disrupt people that are truth tellers.'

'Who do you serve? Do you serve power, or not?'

'Who do you serve? You're actually the activist, becaues you're serving power, you're serving the corporations that own you, you're playing their game, and you have a very clear agenda.'

There are a lot of journalists who want to ask the hard questions, but they are just compromised by the companies they work for, noted a guest. Goodwin created a model that allows her to do that, without interruption. That really is the difference. Who are you accountable to? Who do you serve? What compromises are you forced to make.

People are not apathetic, Goodwin noted, considering Haitians gunned down when they ran for office or Americans largely not voting.

Clinton and Gingrich teamed up and passed the Telecommunications Act which lifted restrictions on ownership of local media, and it went from hundreds of local stations to now consolidated into just a handful. A few corporations and billionaire owners controlling the outlets, and their first priority is not to the news, it's not to the journalists who work for them. It's to the sharedholders, to their board of directors. They traded the integrity of the news organizations for special favors.

Why isn't there a law prohibiting owning more than 5 local networks, and even at 5 you should demonstrate some reason and interest in having all those 5 instead of just 1 or 2. Can't you require that who owns/runs a news organization actually take part in it?

'I don't think it's whether you have a view,' said Goodman. 'I think it's whether you are fair and accurate.'

She talked about how she had a guest on once, and before the guest came on she saw that Goodman had published an op taking the other side, but Goodwin challenged her saying 'So you're dropping out?' and she wouldn't drop out so she came on, but then after the debate she called Goodwin and said it was the fairest debate she'd ever been involved in. How many corporate news agencies can say the same?

'It's just straight up journalism. It's not advocacy. It's just a pure belief in what's good and fighting for that with everything that she's got.'

Democracy Now also has all their 30 years available publicly. Unlike maybe CNN or other big ones where they don't keep things past 6 months or it's paywalled, noted one guy.

Over the 30 years there's a record of many times the media has failed to pick up the story but Democracy Now has picked it up.

Goodwin talked about recent protests in Canada where police used dogs that bit native american protesters. No news covered it except them basically. But then it took off, and the big news agencies were using Democracy Now's footage, and Goodwin was like 'Good', and the democracy is called 'Steal This Story Please.'

The film already has 75 theaters and they expect to double that after they do NY, and they've won 8 audience awards, which tells them that even though big movie companies want you to believe all people want is true crime and celebrity films, there is a hunger out there for political content, for films that speak to this moment. ... Also, by the film being in these art house theaters it's helping bolster arts because art is dangerous now, and it's also under attack. These theaters that are daring to play this film, they're suffering from cuts, they're losing funding, alongside the journalists.

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How US news outlets became the tools of the super rich | The Listening Post (youtube.com)

AJ

Their business has always been profit-seeking, not news. Owning a newspaper is a business venture.

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The "Stop Nick Shirley Act" (youtube.com)

Bill AB 2624.

The official aim of the bill is to protect immigrant-serving organizations from threats of violence.

Even if Cali legislators passed this, how could it ever pass a Constitutional challenge at the SC?

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Comedian Dave Chappelle Unveils Restored 19th-Century Radio Hub | Hollywood News (youtube.com)

He funded the old union schoolhouse renovation. He didn't give money to the radio station, he invested in the space.

'It's kind of a beacon for sanity', 'a nice baseline of truth and context' for the local area, said Chappelle.

The radio station is out in the community connecting with the people there. They're not out of a big city, a corporation, subject to censorship by a sponsor. 'They tell the truth. They tell the stories. And that's rare these days.'

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Nick Shirley Confronts Authors of the "Stop Nick Shirley Act" (youtube.com)

Shirley's doing not too bad with his questions and his approach to interview subjects. Not great, but better than earlier footage of him might lead you to believe.

His service as a medium between the general public and politicians is maybe interesting.

What he does wouldn't have been possible without SM/YouTube, would it?

Not sure why journalists don't do this a bit more. Like, Shirley tries to interview them about the 'Stop Shirley' bill, and not one of the authors will even answer a question, and they just run away more or less, so that make them apparent to people familiar with the Shirley/journalism/governmentXfraud issue, but most people don't know or care, so false politicians can continue in democracy. But if other bills were challenged the same way and the authors of the bill (signers) were seen running away and just not willing to even speak honestly to the people their bill effects, maybe there would be less votes for false politicians. Well, maybe not many less.

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The Threats are real... They want to k*ll us (youtube.com)

Another reason civics needs to be in school, and not just cursory.

Shirley receives mean and scary death threats, for ... exposing fraud, two $1b fraud programs. Exposing fraud is not welcome by the governors, politicians in the state. Instead, they came out in defence of the fraudsters and against the journalist.

Tim Walz tweeted that Shirley was 'a delusional conspiracy theorist.' But then Walz dropped out of the election race because of his involvement in fraud.

Newsom's press office tweeted an AI image of Shirley dressed up like a terminator/suited/cybord saying 'Hey, can I see your kids', 'looking like a pervert' (Shirley said). To try to defame Shirley.

Someone suggested Shirley deserves the Pulitzer for journalism. I guess that's true. Who has done more in journalism this year? Funny, such an uneducated, young man, doing what all the educated, older and capable men can't or won't.

April 1, 2026
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ICE agents detain Nashville reporter (youtube.com)

A Spanish language reporter from Nashville, arrested without warrant, the defense says.

Her attorneys filed an emergency petition for writ of habeas corpus.

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Humboldt Families Accuse CBC of "Twisting" Their Interviews: "We don't trust the mainstream media" (youtube.com)

Citizens should vote on the CBC every year. Doesn't have to be a vote that causes anything, necesarily. But could factor into how much of the tax funded media budget goes to CBC and how much to others. All candidates for tax funding probably should pass a journalism standards (measure of their published work) test though, which the standard should be higher than CBC currently does.

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Try Google Image searching Jimmy Lai or Cheng nan-jung. For some reason, it spikes my CPU resources up to full to image search these. A regular search term uses almost no CPU. Jaime Garzón or Julian Assange search doesn't spike it either.

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Former CBC Host EXPOSES How CBC Silences Their Own Journalists (youtube.com)

As a journalist for them, he was placed under confidentiality restrictions that prevented him from correcting public and internal narratives, he said. CBC silenced and intimidated (threats of firing) him, he said. 'Intimidation went unchecked.' The confidentiality, 'It's very much a normal thing that we use,' such a Canadian way of phrasing a command for silence.

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Former CBC journalist Travis Dhanraj accuses broadcaster of 'tokenism' (youtube.com)

He was fired for tweets. When he raised concerns he was 'viewed as disruptive.'

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New Investigation Claims To Reveal Banksy's True Identity | 10 News+ (youtube.com)

Reuters exposing this, but why would they? Is Reuters journalism?

Part of Banksy's lawyers response was about privacy and how it 'protects freedom of expression by allowing creators to speak truth to power without fear of retaliation, censorship or persecution.'

Banksy, if not a group anyway, could enlist other people to 'be exposed' theatrically to cloud his identity in the wake of what Reuters is doing.

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US federal judge blocks Trump's shut down of international broadcaster Voice of America |DW News (youtube.com)

Listeners in Turkey had switched to DW.

Persia VOA is partially back up, they report.

VOA is particularly good at shortwave, VPN friendly, etc. Stuff that would be useful in an internet blackout like Iran has.

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Judge orders Voice of America be put back together again. What are the chances that will happen? (apnews.com)

A commenter about the Banksy identification. 'Reuters joins the right wing, ergo we should stop thinking of them as neutral. There's a difference between CAN and SHOULD. Really poor, self-serving judgement. Makes you wonder about the rest of their reporting.'

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Supreme Court rejects appeal from online citizen journalist over her arrest in Texas (apnews.com)

She was arrested in 2017 for publishing on Facebook to 'gain a benefit' (followers/likes). Two years later the criminal case was dropped, and she brought a suit against the city for violating her First and Fourth Amendment rights through a retaliatory arrest. Two years later the court ruled the police had qualified immunity, which decision was reversed a year later still ("If the First Amendment means anything, it surely means that a citizen journalist has the right to ask a public official a question, without fear of being imprisoned."). Then two years later still, in 2024, the full 5th Circuit Court of Appeals overturned the decision and reinstated qualified immunity for the officers, saying that the law's unconstitutionality wasn't obvious.

The Supreme Court heard the case and in 2025 they vacated the Appeals court ruling, but the Appeals court again dismissed her claim anyway. She appealed to the Supreme Court a second time but today they declined to hear it.

March 1, 2026
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Thompson Reuters seems to be trading down, along with tech stocks.

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Volusia man arrested for fraud, theft crimes he did not commit (youtube.com)
Journalists did weeks of digging to uncover the reciepts that proved his innocence.

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The warrants the police had were for the man, with his photo. For using stolen credit cards at hotels.

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The place he worked (and punched his timecard the day of the hotel stay) fired him after his arrest. But HR did supply investigators with his timecard showing he had punched in.

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The actual fraudster tried to use the cards again or something, and was banned by Universal Studios for trespassing, and police came and gave him his ban, and there is bodycam footage showing the man is not Burges. The journalists requested this bodycam footage and received it after 2 months. Burges's timecard showed he checked in that day too.

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‘... they didn’t do no kind of investigation, and just charged me, because it looks so like me.'

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The police chief said facial recognition AI wasn't used in this.

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The same day the news agency received the body cam footage from the city, the state attorney's office filed a no information notice in Burges's case.

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Burges said he felt hopeless before he shared his story with the news agency, WESH2 Investigates.

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This news agency does real interviews, but uses an AI to write web articles, and uses a real editor to check those articles. It puts a note at the bottom of the article saying it was written by AI. They double check. They also run their scripts (articles) through a scripts articles guidelines AI to make sure it looks fair and unbiased.

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‘ICE Chasing’ Teen Brothers Risk Their Lives To Expose Agents | 10 News+
Been teargassed and peppersprayed like 7 times. They offer up their video footage free for anyone who wants it.

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‘ICE observers.’

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Videoed an ICE agent walking up and pepperspraying the face of a man who was already pinned down by several other ICE agents. Videoed an US citizen torn out of her car and carried away.

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A lot of ICE aren't even wearing body cams, and when they are, the cameras aren't rolling, and when they're rolling the video doesn't get released. Citizens persistently videoing them breaks the narrative they want to put out.

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Ex-media tycoon Jimmy Lai sentenced to 20 years in Hong Kong security case - AP Explains
Lai is 78. Two counts of national security law crimes, and a count of sedition (inciting the publishing of seditious materials). Other Apple Daily workers got between 6 and 10 years. Lai was arrested 5 years ago.

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Only a fourth of Americans only have even a bare shred of trust in media? Do you think that's because of journalists or because of corporations who own all the newspapers, even local ones?

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How Jeff Bezos Broke The Washington Post
‘Destroying trust is the currency of autocrats.’

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This month, WP closed the Sports department, reduced International and Metro (laid off a reporter in the middle of a war zone. ("We will continue to have a strategic overseas presence in close to a dozen locations.'), cut the books department, closed the dialy news show (The Post Reports).

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Cut staff by 1/3 (after already a few staff reductions recently also).

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The WP is expected, by the masses, to expertly monitor people in power. It's importance isn't limited to the city. It's one of 2 large news publishers in Washington.

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When Bezos bought, he seemed to many like he wanted to be a serious champion of the paper. He increased staff, and hired engineers for the digital side of the WP.

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He took a stand against Trump personal attacks in Trump 1.0, and this increased WP subs and WP even was profitable for 2 years. In 2014 Bezos declined to go through with a planned endoresement of Kamala Harris, and 250k people cancelled WP subscriptions. During the Trump campaign Bezos maintained his standard donations to both parties, but after Trump won Amazon donated $1m to Trump (the January 20 2025 inauguration) plus $1m in kind by streaming the ceremony on Prime Video. Bezos was one of many (most?) tech leaders who fell in line and congratulated Trump publicly and met with Trump do discuss deregulation and the economy. Amazon also bought the Melania Trump documentary at a price above market rate.

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‘We need to have a newspaper that doesn’t sully itself with presidential endorsement.' Bezos also cut some opinions from the Opinions of WP, ‘We will cover other issues besides personal liberties and free markets but we will not be running any opinions that are in opposition to those.’ It became clear, the reporter says, within months, that he was shifting the Opinion more to the Right. The WP shifted to a powerful force of contraint on any administration to the WP being perceived to have fallen in line with political whims. ‘Bezos knows that digital industries tend to focus around one big winner. Amazon.com is the perfect example of this.’ We went from having many small shops everywhere to one giant that dominates the retail business and 'doesn’t allow much else to thrive outside of it in a lot of cases.'

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In February 2026 Wp laid off 30% of its workforce.

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Is this a stellar example of why CEOs/owners of large companies shouldn't be allowed to buy newspapers? Outside of a monopoly (Amazon's legally unrecognized monopoly or effective whatever close to it), companies would all be too small for this to be worthwhile, but for a company that big, it would make financial sense even to buy WP for a few hundred million dollars. In 2013, Amazon made $74b gross and $274m net (last year it net $78b).

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Every contract the government allows or denies a company as big as Amazon is worth the negotiating value of newspaper like the WP and the editorial cooperation with the current Federal administration or many state or local admin.

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At the time, $250m was 1% of Bezos' net worth and is 0.1% of his current net worth. $250m inflation adjusted for today would be $340m (but official inflation is lower than real, many believe).

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Berkshire opened a position in NYT, after exiting newspaper companies in 2020. But he had said that NYT and WSJ had a digital moat.

NYT's digital subscription revenue is up 14% in the most recent Quarter, and digital advertising up 25%.

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The main argument is ‘trusted source’ in a AI generated news environment, and licencing real information to Microsoft et al to train their LLM services. This is high margin revenue if it comes from only a few sources.

February 1, 2026
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2. Transparency: Blacklock's Documents (youtube.com)
Canada.

'Blacklock's Reporter has requested 576 pages that will reveal the discussions between the government and the Kamloops Indian Band about the excavations that were paid for with $12.1 million in public funds.'

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YouTube Journalist Nick Shirley Drops BOMBSHELL Opening Statements on Minnesota FRAUD (youtube.com)
The most important journalism done in recent years is by a 19 year old with no education, who can barely string sentences together. Probably can't spell. Doesn't really have any understanding of libel law, its seems from his recent interview on All In. Is tied in with Trump White House, it seems, at least he was in the White House at meetings a while ago. Why is this the type of person doing journalism that makes headlines? No fear because no understanding of fear? or because he's aligned or protected by the armed party?

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California Post brings brash New York-style tabloid news to the West Coast (apnews.com)
Topics of interest to Californians include ‘homelessness, affordability, technology and law and order, said the editor. It will have a flashy front page, which is the most famous part and calling card of the NY version, and a Page 6 gossip column.

The Cali version, like the NY version, is expected to be unprofitable but useful against political enemies and in getting relationships with Right wing politicians, AP reported.

AP put a little summary of news this year in their article.

'It launches at a volatile moment for the industry

'However bold its intentions, the venture is being launched into a turbulent atmosphere for the news business, particularly print papers. More than 3,200 of them have closed nationwide since 2005, according to figures kept by Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism. The online world spawned new information sources and influencers, changed news consumers’ tastes and habits, and upended the advertising market on which newspapers relied.

'California, with a population of nearly 40 million, still has dozens of newspapers, including dailies in and around Los Angeles and other major cities. But the nation’s second-most-populous city hasn’t had a dedicated tabloid focused on regional issues in recent memory. Meanwhile, venerable institutions like the Los Angeles Times have been hit with major layoffs.

'The launch of a paper edition of the Post “defies logic” as news outlets in major metro areas are rapidly shrinking their print footprint, said Ted Johnson, a media and politics editor for Deadline in Washington, D.C., who reported in Los Angeles for 28 years.

‘“But Rupert Murdoch, his first love is print,” Johnson said.’

Commenter. 'They may be surprised at how many people read the new Calif. Post. It will appeal to conservatives and it can't possibly have more fake news than the main stream media.'

...

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‘Fresh brewed news’: Community café offers locals a chance to sip with reporters (csmonitor.com)
‘Locals were unsurprised that the newspapers were struggling – and there was little pushback to consolidating the publications into one newspaper.’

“I think a lot of where we are today is due to the perception that there are editors and writers away in this tower who are covering issues, but they’re not fully connected with readers,” Ms. Capetta says. “We’re trying to shift that perspective.”

“I don’t think brewing coffee every morning is necessarily going to solve all of the audience trust issues out there,” she says. “I do think for a local audience, the ability to attach a physical location and names to faces, to personalities, to people who are in their community, they shift the dynamic a little bit.”

There's also a Silent Reading Club.

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Positive News launches podcast about people turning ideals into action (positive.news)
“Whether they’re rewilding landscapes, building inclusive communities or reshaping transport, each pioneer is guided by a belief that work can and should be a force for good,” she said. “They’re not focused on growth for its own sake, but on asking better questions about impact, responsibility and the legacy they want to leave behind.”

'At a time when we are constantly told we need to hustle harder and chase growth at all costs, it’s refreshing to hear from leaders who are focused on solving real local, national and global problems. They’ve achieved a version of success that goes far beyond a strong balance sheet.'

‘Not only informs but empowers.’

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Journalists flag Samoa’s draft media protocol (globalvoices.org)
‘The bill would require background checks on journalists and mandatory approval of questions during press briefings.

'Up to 5,000 people tune in every week to a Norwegian news magazine program made by and for people with learning disabilities.’ The Year in Cheer (reasonstobecheerful.world)

Diplomacy & IR

September 1, 2026 - Colombia asks for military aid, Trump threatens Oman, China/Brazil up, Iceland/EU down
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Reportedly, Colombia's new pres. is asking the US for help fighting cartels/opposition in Colombia.

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Flock Apologizes: Says They Will Take Steps to End Abuses (youtube.com)

Not end abuses but ‘take steps to’ end abuses, ie nothing of consequence.

If they could or wanted to end abuses, they would definitely say they were going to do that, but they didn't, and won't, say that.

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Trump Says South Korea Refused to Help With Iran (youtube.com)

Commenter. ‘i mean everybody refused to help USA including their master ISREal , no ?’

Commenters are overwhelming against Trump and for SKorea.

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Chinese tourism to Brazil surges 55 percent (youtube.com)

Thailand too expensive?

The two countries signed a visa-free travel agreement, so both nations' citizens can visit the other without forms or a wait for a visa. Lots of Chinese go to do trade there, visit customers. Formerly, the beurocracy for Chinese who wanted to visit Brazil (mostly for business because they already have businesses there) was discouraging.

‘It’s more convenient. Faster. Easier.'

August 1, 2026
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Canada celebrates new bridge to US during tariff troubles with Trump (apnews.com)

Colombia's De la Espriella to Close 14 Embassies, Cut Ties With Cuba and Nicaragua | The City Paper Bogota

July 1, 2026
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US, allies to make plan for $300 billion Iran reconstruction fund • FRANCE 24 English (youtube.com)

Sometimes you have to beat your girlfriends before you give them money to do what you want.

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Belarus halts Russian drone systems amid pressure from Moscow | DW News (youtube.com)

Issue in question is whether Belarus would allow its territory as a base for Russian drones in attacks on Ukraine.

Lukashenko said all this story was Western propaganda. Lukashenko has been a longterm ally of Putin and Russia, so it seems like it would be a sudden break and you might wonder what motivation he would have for changing course, if it is true.

The reason Lukashenko might really have rejected Russian drone base rights is that if Ukraine attacks Belarus, it would make Lukashenko unpopular.

Belarus and Russia have an EU style relationship, no international taxes probably, common labor market, no visa required.

Could Kazakhstan be next, as long as it sends Russia oil?

June 1, 2026
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Ghana joins Zambia, Zimbabwe in rejecting US health deal over sovereignty concerns (youtube.com)

Is US P2P waning?

US wants Ghana to take over systems that had been run by US-contracted NGOs.

The deal breaker is the privacy concerns. Sharing control of data, resources, and health care decisions with US authorities, which directly violate the Data Protection Act and the Public Health Act of Ghana.

'What is making [the US] ask for health data? That is something we should look into.' Other Ghanians say that as long as they receive health aid they should share data.

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Trump weighs Taiwan arms package after summit aimed at steadying US-China ties (apnews.com)

Pretend for a moment the country is not an ally or cooperative state, come up with what would be a good economic/political move in that environment, make a show of considering doing it, and use that as your chip when you visit.

May 1, 2026
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"Brussels Is Pushing Us Into War": Orbán Sounds Alarm, Warns Hungary Faces 'Financial Ruin' | APT (youtube.com)
Is this a sort of anti-IR, a la anti-hero?

Like, cowardly politicians of Europe and elsewhere are emboldened and energized when they see a politician stand up to the established order and say no to what everyone wants to say no to, maybe?

April 1, 2026
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Trump takes forceful steps to pressure Latin American leaders to reduce China ties (apnews.com)

Pressuring Panama to seize Chinese ports, warning Chile about a fiber optic cable, Peru against a mega port.

"Trump's approach is making hedging increasingly difficult. The most likely outcome is a more fragmented region. Right-leaning governments will align more closely with Washington, while left-leaning governments will maintain or deepen ties with China. Countries caught in the middle will try to manage the tension case by case." Francisco Urdinez, an associate professor at the Political Science Institute of the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile

"The U.S. did not invest in the industries that the developing world in general is eyeing to close their infrastructure gaps. The U.S. is not investing in green energy; the U.S. is not investing in green mobility. Meanwhile, over the last 20 years, China has leapfrogged technologically into these new industries, and Chinese companies have had to develop technologies that nobody else has in order to make those industries practical." Rebecca Ray, a senior academic researcher at Boston University's Global Development Policy Center

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Mexican President Sheinbaum says she will uphold Cuban doctor agreement as other countries dip out (apnews.com)

'Other nations across the Americas have ditched their agreements with Cuba's government in the face of mounting U.S. pressure.' Rubio has called the sending of doctors to other countries through official government programs a 'form of human trafficking,' AP reports.

'Sheinbaum on Wednesday defended the program and said that "we can't forget" all the help Cuban doctors have offered.' "It's hard to get Mexican doctors and specialists to go out to many rural areas where we need medical specialists, and the Cubans are willing to work there."

Honduras and Jamaica abruptly shut down missions and sent Cuban doctors home after the White House wanted them to. Mexico has, however, stopped oil shipments after Trump threatened tariffs, but has sent aid shipments.

'Asked for a response on Wednesday, the White House pointed to a statement from Secretary of State Marco Rubio in June when the administration announced restrictions for various Central American officials with ties to Cuba's "forced labor scheme." Rubio at the time said the restrictions "promote accountability for those who support and perpetuate these exploitative practices."'

For Cuba, exporting their large force of educated, skilled doctors (also accustomed to doing medicine with scarce resources) is a form of diplomacy. They often serve in rural areas of other countries.

Why doesn't Cuba modernize its factory production and farming and energy? Is it too risky for the government to allow Cubans to have the power that would go along with this?

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Why Pakistan has emerged as a mediator between US and Iran (apnews.com)

'Both because it has relatively good ties with both Washington and Tehran and because it has a lot at stake in seeing the war resolved.' Previous US-Iran talks had been done by Oman, Qatar, and other Middle East nations, but they're involved in this war (bombing on their territory).

Neighbor to Iran, longstanding good ties with US (Pakistan joined Trump's Board of Peace, also, despite disapproval from Pakistani Islamists). Good working relationships with both and others involved, including KSA. Pakistan doesn't get along with Israel because of the Palestinian issue. Pakistan also helped in US-China talks in 1972 and in 1988 helped in what led to the Geneva Accords. Pakistan mediates between the Afghan Taliban and the US.

5m Pakistanis working in the Arab states, sending home as much money as Pakistan's exports. Pakistan's fuel prices are up 20% so far.

March 1, 2026
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China overturns death sentence for Canadian (youtube.com)
Smuggling drugs into China. China will retry the case.

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Shortly after Carney visited Beijing.

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France to revoke US envoy's government access after summons no-show • FRANCE 24 English (youtube.com)
The US State Department's counterterrorism buereau tweeted that ‘Deranque was killed by left-wing militants, should concern us all. VIolent radical leftism is on the rise and its role in [the] death demonstrates the threat it poses to public safety.' The US embassy in France retweeted it.

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The French Foreign Ministry responded with, ‘In light of this apparent failure to grasp the basic requirements of the ambassadorial mission... the minister has requested that [the US ambassador to France, Kushner, the father of Jared Kushner] no longer be allowed direct access to members of the French government.’

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Commenter. 'I'm no clairvoyant, but I see more tariffs and another Trump tantrum in France's future.' Another. ‘Only the US would send out a criminal to be ambassador!’

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Quite a lot of comments in favor of France, seeing the move as France standing up for itself, something it seems people feel countries haven't been doing as much as they could have been, as well as Americans apologizing for what their government was doing and saying they haven't forgotten history, as well as general dislike for Kushner. The word ‘Quislings’ was mentioned.

February 1, 2026
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Hong Kong court hears arguments on sentencing of former publisher Jimmy Lai; no decision yet (apnews.com)

'His conviction raised concerns about the curtailing of press freedom in the former British colony, which returned to Chinese rule in 1997.

'His case could also test Beijing’s diplomatic ties. The verdict drew criticism from foreign governments, including the U.S. and Britain. After the verdict, U.S. President Donald Trump, who had raised Lai’s case with China, said he felt “so badly.”' AP

Lai was convicted of conspiracy to commit collusion with foreign forces to endanger national security and with conspiracy to distribute seditious publications, which he pled not guilty to. The HK court said his actions caused a ‘constant invitation’ to the US to harm the Chinese government.

Six other Apple Daily execs pled guilty to conspiring with Lai for anti government purposes. They are expected to be sentensed to less than 10 years.

...

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Mark Carney's Davos Speech Goes VIRAL, Netizens Say 'Canada Just Wrote U.S.' Obituary!' (youtube.com)
‘Living in a lie,’ Carney retold the story of a Polish store that placed a communist sign in its window, just to avoid problems, and so did everyone else, so everyone believed people supported communism.

Civil Rights

September 1, 2026 - Cellphone wipe, Flock camera destruction in US, Talk show PSAs, Right to petition sued, Silencers legal?, Hate speech in Canada
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This month we saw a new type of story in the advance of the US police state, with the arrest of someone for wiping their phone during an unconsitutional (because Constitution does not apply at borders/aiports in the US now) search of a citizen (for reasons like that he belonged to a politically unpopular group or something) and he was arrested, charge not totally clear, and then ICE's electric shock (non-brandished weapons they call ‘deescalation devices’) hit headlines. On the other side of it some small resistence from Americans, such as many city meetings and some public protests against Flock cameras (and Flock has been limited in many places, as well as more headlines for those who have access using it illegally/for tracking people they're interested in in their personal lives) and data centers.

Some have pointed out that everything that happens at a US airport (or border) is under duress. Their interactions with their authorities rely on their Consittutional protections which Americans currently don't think apply at airports. 

Also this month, we saw several stories of serious action by US citizens against Flock and other camera monitoring of civilians. For months we have seen events in peaceful town halls, but we started to see people wearing masks and hoodies destroying the cameras, similar to has been happening in the UK (by kinda large communities btw) for years. The support amongst internet commenters for these actions seems almost entirely positive. For a while now, the camera companies have been trying to evade detection and even using fake cameras, while on the other side tech guys (and some gals) are making devices that detect real cameras to find them.

Also this month we saw maybe the first recent citizen action against a house of a tech giant, in Argentina against Thiel's pad.

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Police Surveillance Technology: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO) (youtube.com)

For a couplefew years, late night talk show hosts have been taking up the task of delivering news and education about the government's/bigtech's continued encroachment on civil rights, dedicating large chunks of their shows to this instead of comedy, although they successfully mix in jokes into these presentations, too. 

Mayor of LV says they're watching everyone all the time, ‘essentially Big Brother on steroids.’

The police, using the cities cameras which are everywhere, zoom on a guy who did nothing, just walking, becaues he had a ‘suspicious bulge’ in his jacket. They followed everywhere he went and watched everything he did for 15 minutes.

There is a company called Fusus that does connectivity for surveillance cameras in private businesses etc. They link those systems with the police so police can click of a button request footage and send that private footage to police, ie no warrant rigamarole. Basically the police just use the private businesses as free storage and free police work. They are letting Amazon's Ring cameras livestream to police. Renalto in Cali has made signing up with Futus and policy-making so that security cameras ‘shall be accessible to tthe Rialto PD through FUSUS' contingent to setting up a business there.

Shotspotter, a similar company but for audio not video, sets up microphones all over cities. Data in news reporting by Fox9 showed ‘MPD responded to Shotspotter 8500 times’ and ‘80% of the time no evidence of a gun-related crime.’ The purpose of the microphones, so they say to get them installed, is to listen for gunshots. Only 32 of those 8500 let to an arrest, ie 0.4%.

Automatic licence plate readers, Flock, record every car that passes and record the location, shared with police (govrenment), no warrant required. 37% of ALPRs are misreads, pulling over drivers wrongly, including that footage of pulling parents out of their own car and pinning them on the ground with their guns on them, their kids also pinned on the concrete hands behind their backs in a parking lot or something. The stolen vehicle was a non-SUV vehicle from another state, and they were in a SUV in Colorado.

If you are at a protest or abortion clinic, yeah, you're recorded. ICE has access, revoked now? but still able through local law enforcement.

Stingray sniffing all cellphones in an area. It can't be targetted, it has to pull in all internet connecting devices in range. Cell-site simulators, we don't know how often they do it because FBI forced ‘secrecy obligaitons’ on usage by police departments, so they can't tell the public if they want to.

All these systems spill into predicive policing systems. Santa Cruz started predictive policing in 2011. Other cities since then include LA, Chicago, St Louis, Atlanta, and Philly.

One police officer in Oliver's videos criticized predictive policing, ie sending police to (sometimes wrongly) somebody's house to harass them and check up on them dozens of times, ‘where they are likely to engage people in a negative way, then that becomes a problem.’ The effect is also partially racist, which maybe should activate blacks and Jews a bit more but really isn't germaine (and is divisive) to the real problem which applies to everyone.

We now also have dozens of public cases of police officers using ALP to stalk romantic interests.

It takes a lot of work currently to expose what systems cities etc are using. Too much work to expose, said Oliver.

Atlas Of Surveillance catalogs all the techs beings used in your area.

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We Made Silencers Legal Again (youtube.com)

Since 1931 (partially due to the Tommy Gun and sawed off shotguns) the NFA was made to psuedo-constitutionally restrict some weapons, which because they can't constitutionally do it to the guns, they made a $200 tax and regulated the tax, so these politicians in Texas worked to eliminate the tax, making all those things legal.

DOJ hasn't yet responded, basically, it seems.

Top commenter. "Now we're going after the rights we've lost" That's my f*****g congressman right there."

People are not sure about whether they really want silencers out there so much, though, so there will be work on this issue yet.

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Town Will Pay Reporter $850K Over Police Newspaper Raid (youtube.com)

Shouldn't the town after such incidents be able to try their city workers ie police, of such rulings, so the citizens don't have to pay for things like this, which are clearly against code, just because they have a police force? Like put it in the police contracts, not that they'll for sure be liable, but that the city can try them afterwards and they are liable to be found liable. Even if you want to put a high bar, understanding that police are not supposed to be and can't be highly scholarly, to try to only effect the obviously highly egregious actions. 

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City of Edgerton files lawsuit against two women over putting data center to a vote (youtube.com)

These two women got together and went out and got signatures, and got double the number of signatures to put the issue to a vote.

The lawsuit alleges the petition ‘has unsupported facts,’ is a ‘zoning restriction disguised as a nuisance ordinance,’ and it ‘administrative in nature’. And doesn't fall under the citizen petition process, ie the city government doesn't want there to even be a way for people to oppose.

If this works for the city, the people said, this will be what every other city does to control its citizens, too.

Commenter. 'Our employees need a reminder of who's actually in charge of this country.´

Another. 'The First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution protects five core freedoms: religion, speech, the press, assembly, and PETITION. These rights guarantee individual expression and limit government interference. Tar and Feather these tyrants.'

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Community meeting on Flock cameras ends after heated moment (youtube.com)

Why do people (citizens, no less) have to fight just for their right not to be spied on, monitored, and recorded?

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Americans are destroying license-plate cameras as surveillance backlash grows (reddit.com)

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This is considered "hate" speech in Toronto (youtube.com)

Step one, tell the public you're going to make hate speech laws against the most greivous types of speech. Step two, shortly thereafter use hate speech laws against all kinds of things, and just say those things are ‘hate’ when they have nothing to do with hate. Similar to backdoors into private devices, the government is not capable of limiting themselves to only using such abilities for actual high risk things, but will just constantly increase their reach until opposed.

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How the McDonald's mobile app compiled 515-page dossier on one reporter (reddit.com)

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Air Force officer who criticized Trump faces rare criminal charges (youtube.com)

Protesters in Buenos Aires 'marched on Theil's mansion' there. When this happens, everyone in the world sees that that person is physically ie really (not just internet the opinion of which is always ambivalent and meaningless) not popular. And the reason must be for what he is doing. We don't see things like this much, but is that also because these guys live in the docile Northern Hem? but Theil moved to protest-ready Latin America.

August 1, 2026
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'China Out of Tibet': Protest Erupts Outside UN Headquarters in New York | APT (youtube.com)

Haven't heard from this issue in a while.

They want the UN to end its silence on Tibet.

This week, 'Loga Rangzen was a 42-year-old Tibetan activist and Uber driver residing in New York who died after self-immolating outside the United Nations headquarters in Manhattan on July 2, 2026.'

I didn't see it in the news. I heard about it from a friend.

80 likes out of 600 views.

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Activist charged with felony after giving border agent "duress code" that wiped his phone (arstechnica.com)

He says the search was not lawful, and they targeted him for political reasons, association with politically unpopular groups.

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GrapheneOS user accused of child sexual abuse for protesting police training facility (youtube.com)

Rossman

How to know when a technology is actually good for citizens. The authorities tell you so, but they do it like this.

It works to some degree for them, when the user base is very small. They did it with Signal app, which later people found out the government itself was using while the government was spying on other world leaders etc through non-secure devices ie not GrapheneOS. But once the user base gets bigger the claims that people who use the tech are socially harmful people backfire against the politicians.

To combat governments attempt to suppress technologies that are actually useful for citizens, you have to reach this threshold. Not sure what the percentage or nominal figure is.

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Russia accuses Telegram CEO Pavel Durov of aiding terrorism in its latest digital crackdown (apnews.com)

If there was one word that we could strike from public usage, or at least bar politicians from using it.

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Facebook (facebook.com)

Here's a NYT post on Facebook about the GrapheneOS phone-wiping charges, and the Americans commenting show how far Americans are ahead of all other nationalities I know of in terms of civil and constitutional rights and technicalities.

Among the comments on this and other posts is that while the FedGov wants to set a precedent that citizens not be allowed to wipe their phone so border agents can't review their private data at will, without any charge or reasonable suspicion. That's what the FedGov wants, but actually this story is getting traction and will make everyone go out and get GrapheneOS phones, some suggested.

Many also noted that the Duress Code needs to be re-written to improve plausible deniability, for example it wipes real data but shows a plausible user account with apps in the phone.

Also, the man could charge the agent/government for destroying his phone contents, maybe, even though he gave the passcode that did it. There's a question of whether the agent himself is responsible/liable for 'destruction of evidence' if the government can unconstitutionally force this to be considered 'evidence'.

Currently, the border (and, technically, 100 miles of a US border which includes most major US cities) is a Constitution-free zone ie Americans have no rights either.

Citizens these days typically hide or avoid coming to a head with these government abuses which have become very common, because they don't want to be the one, and with good reason, because for decades at least the government has irresponsibly persecuted such people who stand up for or use their Constitutional rights, but maybe things have gone so far that if people currently do start challenging things, the courts and public opinion will be on their side.

July 1, 2026
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Not Just License Plates: They're Going to Track So Much More (youtube.com)

'Judge halts Trump voter database over privacy, accuracy fears. A federal judge has blocked the Trump administration from using a database of Americans' Social Security numbers and citizenship status.'

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Albanians tear down construction site in on-going protests over Kushner-backed private island (youtube.com)

Direct protest?

Top comment. 'So Jan 6 defendants beat police and they get pardoned. Protesters with clean records get 100 years? Insane'

So the people have noticed. From the comments, it seems the government's persecution of these people is increasing support for them and their cause, and anti-fascism as an idea and movement.

One man got 30 years, who wasn't even at the protest, for conspiracy to conceal documents after he moved a box containing magazines and pamphlets considered to be Anti Fascist. A woman got 50 years for rioting, providing material support to terrorists, conspiracy to use and carry an explosive (which was fireworks).

Another comment. 'AntiFa is not an organization. It's not a club. It is not a foreign government. This is some Soviet BS. So, being against fascism is terrorism??!? wtf?'

Another. 'Can't get anymore Nazi than this when even protest is punished by extreme measures. What is even worse is how easy and quick it is for judges to undermine the Law.'

Another. 'If the government is not fascist, anti-fascist beliefs are not even remotely a threat. This is an admission that this government aspires to be fascist.'

It seems judges are being noticed by the public.

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Congress Just Voted to Track Your Web History (youtube.com)

Any time a politician pronounces the word 'kid' or 'child' vote no.

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Pete Buttigieg briefly separated from his kids over false report (youtube.com)

Someone anonymously just called Child Protective Services and made a false report. The report was that someone heard he said he had done violent things, overheard him while he was in some random town which he'd never even been to.

It's like swatting, but has a child/abuse aspect.

He talked about the terror of CPS and the police coming to his house and telling him he could not even talk to his own children while they took them away, and that he could not stay with his children, and either he or they had to stay somewhere else that night, while the children and the man were questioned for serious crimes. Interrogation by CPS. Two 4-year-olds have to deal with the traumatic experience, the two men (they're gay) have to deal with it. Probably never forget it. Feel much less safe forever.

It's illegal to do this, but so what? How do you find an anonymous caller?

June 1, 2026
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UK: Massive security operation in London as counterprotests organised • FRANCE 24 English (youtube.com)

Will Brits, someday, stand up?

Far-right march, countermarch by Stand Up to Racism, Soccer final march. People watching to see how the authorities control these.

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"No se case si no tiene con qué divorciarse": separarse en Colombia puede costar hasta $10 millones (youtube.com)

As if you needed yet more reasons not to get married. Most reasons provided by the state.

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Over 600 parents sign petition to opt out of Chromebook use (youtube.com)

Is there a civil right to not be forced to use (non secure, btw) technology just to receive basic civil services?

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Bolivian police clash with protesters blocking roads into La Paz • FRANCE 24 English (youtube.com)

Commenter. 'ct aim of the Online Safety Act ... keeping the government safe from competition'

'First they came for reform and I did nothing because I didn't like reform...'

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Man thrown in jail for 37 days over Charlie Kirk post wins $835,000 settlement (youtube.com)

Of the taxpayers' money. How about consequences for the people who violate the rights, not consequences for citizens.

Commenter. 'That is why Chump& Co. don't care if they ever get charge, prosecuted and convicted for all the illegal stuff they have done. We the people will pay for it.'

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Bolivian president slashes salary by 50% to calm protests • FRANCE 24 English (youtube.com)

For all those who say governments should be allowed to pass laws to limit protesters, or to punish protesters for violent or unruly protests, notice that it is the only thing that works.

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In Malaysia There Was A Bomb Threat Incident (old.reddit.com)

Someone in Malaysia cares about government privacy invasion that much?

Seems like probably hoax news?

May 1, 2026
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Germany triggers debate by requiring men under 45 to get permit for trips longer than three months (youtube.com)

If you can't keep them in your country because you've destroyed the enjoyment of living there, make laws to forbit them leaving. What is the point at which that force just breaks and people just 'rebel'?

The Germans I've met in other countries in recent years are very liberalist and don't even care or understand the difference between freedom of speech and not. On forums, German message boards have seemed some of the most trigger defensive (taking the offensive, I mean) on any even possible reflection of something like criticism of anything that takes place in or to do with Germany.

Commenter. 'That would require changing the constitution, which isn't possible in the current German parliament'

Another. 'In Germany, we are required to pay about 18 euros per month to fund the public journalism institutions, because they are supposed to be independent from government and private billionaires and inform the population of topics of their interests, like this very one here. They failed to not "notice" this law when it's been issued, and I don't believe it was just by incompetence'

The provision to do this went unnoticed until a newspaper pointed it out.

Germany considering national conscription in military.

Many comments about in inequality, because this just is for men. 'When war knocks on the door, gender equality goes out the window' 'Where is equality? Equal rights must come with equal responsibilities.'

'It feels like my freedom is broken, somehow,' said the young German man interviewed, after the journalist pointed out it probably wouldn't be denied anyway. 'A lot of young people don't want to have contact with the miliitary. And that's a feeling of your living standard is reducing somehow.'

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Japan relaxes privacy laws to make AI development easy (theregister.com)

Reading the comments, it's almost like Democracy isn't democracy at all.

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Immigration board denies Mahmoud Khalil's appeal, bringing activist one step closer to deportation (apnews.com)

"The only thing I am guilty of is speaking out against the genocide in Palestine — and this administration has weaponized the immigration system to punish me for it," Khalil said in a statement.

'Khalil, a 31-year-old legal permanent resident, was the first person whose arrest became publicly known during the federal crackdown on noncitizens who publicly criticized Israel and its actions in Gaza. The government has claimed that Khalil's efforts as a leader of pro-Palestinian protests at Columbia were "aligned to Hamas." They have not presented evidence of any connection to the terrorist group, and Khalil has adamantly denied allegations of antisemitism.' AP

He served 104 days in immigration jail before a federal judge ordered his release.

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London police arrest more than 200 at protest backing banned group Palestine Action (apnews.com)

Robert Del Naja from Massive Attack arrested among 500 people demonstrating for Palestinian Action in Trafalgar Square, London.

He said it was a 'very small price to pay'.

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Warrantless Surveillance Needs to Stop! A Call to Action (youtube.com)

'Do you agree to surveillance without a warrant? Tell Congress no more!'

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A bank robber's cellphone gave him away. Now the Supreme Court is hearing his case (apnews.com)

Geofence warrants. 4th Amendment

Police don't have a suspect, and instead just fence a location. Allowing it could "unleash a much broader wave of similar reverse searches."

'The Trump administration's position would allow police to use geofence warrants and similar tools "with no judicial supervision or constitutional safeguards," according to the Policing Project at the New York University School of Law.'

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vSmKgwh0YeM

Andrew Callaghan.

April 1, 2026
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Public access restricted at N.S. Province House (youtube.com)

'Library is Restricted to MLAs, Government and Caucus Staff Only' sign. Maybe you could use some time in the orthography section?

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CTA safety proposal (youtube.com)

No loitering because 'safety'?

'None of the laws like KYC make us any safer, they make us less safe by allowing corporations mishandle personal information with no recourse.' Daliwali

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AI Software Tells Cops to Arrest the Wrong Guy (youtube.com)

100% match.

He went into a building, the building's ID said he a criminal (trespassing). He showed the police his ID but the police didn't believe him, they beleived the AI. They detain him in a room because they don't know which 'is the real one.'

Commenter said he settled out of court with the casino but is now suing the officer.

Maybe for defamation of character? Who wants to be videoed and the video all over the internet of being arrested?

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'No government is going to call its own actions 'mass surveillance.'' Dwarkesh Patel

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Liberal government revises "lawful access" bill after backlash (youtube.com)

Warrantless data collection. As always, under the guise of a children protection scam or a hate speech scam. C-22.

CCLA opposes.

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State Sup. Ct: Police CAN Demand ID If They Deem It Necessary (youtube.com)

Isn't this the definition of a police state? Where it is primarily for the police, and second for citizens?

If you can't freely walk around without having to prove your identity to authorities whenever they ask, do you live in a free society?

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EP#205 | Bill C-16 EXPOSED: This New Law Could End Fair Trials (youtube.com)

'Protecting Victims Act' is the name of the bill. Politicians should not be able to name bills, right?

There is a new 'coercive control' crime, which is very broad.

Sexual assault cases have become very complcated (more than murder cases). Pretrial motions take longer to process in the system, and pass the Jordan Delay (about a decade in law now), violating the Charter right to a speedy trial (18 months or 30 months, during which time there is presumed to be prejudice, sheer stress, of being accused that long, as well as questions about the public's confidence in the government, and also questions about the effects on those that lay the charges and their families etc) and the cases are stayed (dropped). (But the PVA doesn't apply to only sexual assault cases.)

'No one is a victim until after it's been adjudicated in a court. ... Proved beyond a reasonable doubt, then there's a victim.'

It may force prosecution to really look at what cases should go to trial and which should be sort of funneled out of the system. And it may result in having again cases that take 2, 3, 4 years, and what is the value to society and anyone involved to have that kind of case?

The proposed legislation seems to lower the standards of evidence for the prosecution (but not the defense, so the defense would have a higher standard for their evidence).

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Linux Age Verification: FOSS in the Brave New World (youtube.com)

Since there's basically no UN anymore, maybe there's no universally expectable civil rights?

Brazil and California are the forerunners in this. NY, Colorado, Illinois.

How does this pass the Constitution? First Amendment prior restraint on access to information.

Brazil's constitution protects privacy of communications.

Cali tried to force an ID check on websites but the Supreme Court struck down such mandates.

In 2025 (Paxton), the US Supreme Court lowered the bar for infringing citizens' privacy and anonymity, from strict scrutiny to intermediate scrutiny.

Top comment.

'Actually protect a child \u274c

Mass Surveillance in public \u2705'

Commenter. 'The only "road ahead" is to fight tyranny, not to comply with it. If the laws are written by criminals for their convenience no one can have any moral obligation to follow them.'

Windows and Mac already have age gate/parental controls/ID registration. Ageless Linux \u2014 Software for Humans of Indeterminate Age (agelesslinux.org)

'The child has learned the following lesson: legal compliance prompts are obstacles to be bypassed. The dropdown menu that asks your age is not there to protect you. It is there because a legislature required it. The correct response is to lie. Everyone knows this. The legislature knows this. The platforms know this. The child now knows this.'

System76 already complied, reportedly. Fedora and Open Susa expected to also force ID indetification because of their association with Red Hat.

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Arch Linux Says Opposing Age Verification is Code of Conduct Violation (youtube.com)

'Is apparently asking everyone to censor anyone who is opposing age verificatoin in Arch Linux.' 'Yet another example of weaponizing a Code of Conduct in order to silence someone you don't like the opinion of.' No one was swearing, derogatory statements, threatening. Just someone didn't like a code change and expressed that. He said Arch is probably going to go with age verification, and if he's wrong for Arch to contact him.

He noted that if we've learned one thing the past couple weeks (with age verification laws news), it's that people don't want it, and there's been huge boosts in people installing Linux. No one wants this sort of functionality in their system.

Avenix and MidnightBSD have already said if you're in California don't use their system. Or updated their terms of service that residents of Cali or Brazil are 'not authorized to use MidnightBSD.' Artix stated they will never do age verification. Artix doesn't use systemd, which recently merged age verification code into its sourcecode, so it will be present in everything that uses that, so if you update and your OS uses systemd, it'll be pushed onto your computer. There has been an anti-systemd crowd for years.

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GrapheneOS & FreeDOS Join the "No Age Verification" List (youtube.com)

This is a page that has copies of the statements about age verification by all the different distros.

We're wondering about Debian. Won't want to, but might do it.

There will definitely be distros and people who won't be doing this, so if they're blocked from regular apps/the internet, they'll probably have to just create a new internet, which people have been wanting for a while. The only thing is they'll be cut off from talking to people on devices who don't care about civil rights, which seems to be the vast majority.

In light of Cali, Brazil, NY, Co, the content which they see as harmful is actually useful to them, as it provides for something they want to do, ie collect information on citizens. Instead of just focusing on the actual harmful content, or deciding if and how it is harmful. Or just have an internet that doesn't allow corn.

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Kash Patel Reveals That The FBI Purchases Americans' Location Data After Questioning By Wyden (youtube.com)

Mental Outlaw said that what the laws are really trying to restrict is people downloading software or package managing. 'If the software is served over the Dark Web, those laws need not apply.'

The other question is, does anyone really even care if we lose the internet? It's become garbage, mostly people just use YouTube and Facebook and other big apps, maybe Wikipedia. The blog sites and information sites can be backed up to a different internet, they're not that large.

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SystemD Root Access Exploit Found, Devuan Team Calls SystemD "Unicorn Sh*t" (youtube.com)

'With surveillance enablement removed'.

A dev who did submitted changes to add surveillance enablement 'to follow the letter of the law' also submitted similar code changes to Ubuntu and Arch. Dylan Taylor. Conspiracy theories alleged that he might be the government, but it could have been the government posting that to try to discredit him. Also threats, doxxing of really personal information. Extreme emotional response.

If SystemD just 'folded to age attestation', is it a lesson that many companies can't resist, for one reason or another, but if they want to not ruin the world even further, they can just comply completely and destroy their software (or hardware in other cases) and just build a different thing which does the same but where it isn't possible for it to be corrupted?

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Canada's Online Government Spy Law (youtube.com)

Commenter. 'Justice Centre launched a national petition to stop Bill C-22.'

The comments (from Canadians, mostly) are pretty extreme in their negative opinion and distrust / understanding of the government as an 'enemy' of citizens, is pretty obvious.

Also, a commenter wrote, 'Each year they always try the same, it's so annoying to always fight over the same thing.' This is a point. The Canadian government is always perpetually trying to pass this privacy invasion / state monitoring bill, and have been for decades. Why are they allowed to continue trying for it, if it is demonstrably not what people want or legislators will vote for? Shouldn't there be a moritorium on it for a certain amount of years to not waste so much resources?

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'No Kings' protest: LIVE from Minnesota, DC and New York (youtube.com)

AP

I wonder if they ever realize that by naming their protest this they're calling Trump a king, which is a pretty decent compliment.

March 1, 2026
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Smartglasses spark privacy fears as secret filming videos flood social media | Technology News
Smartglasses spark privacy fears as secret filming videos flood social media | Technology News

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Humble Request to Louis Rossmann (youtube.com)
From a channel called ‘Deflock Colorado.’ Video has 200k views.

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Media Exclusion Zone during Vancouver decampment 'unlawful,' report finds (youtube.com)
April 2023 tent city, news media kept out of area, traffic cameras shut down. VPD ordered it while they cleared out a homeless encampment. The police spokesperson said ‘reporters were there’ and that they put in a pool camera, but not in a way that's not industry standard, was put in by the police themselves, and was only put in half an hour after the operation started, countered the Human Rights Commissioner.

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Spain Social Media Ban: a ProSurveillance Trojan for Censorship
Spain Social Media Ban: a ProSurveillance Trojan for Censorship
'Yeah there's no real privacy here in Spain. You have to give out your NI (identity) number frequently. Deliveries for example (some)' ... To receive your $5 dongle from Amazon.

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Houston-area districts confirm A.I. monitoring tools on student devices as privacy questions grow
Houston-area districts confirm A.I. monitoring tools on student devices as privacy questions grow

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'China’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian told reporters at a daily briefing that Lai is a Chinese citizen, calling him a major planner and participant in a series of anti-China destabilizing activities in Hong Kong. Lin said the judicial cases are purely Hong Kong’s internal affairs, urging “relevant countries” to avoid interfering in those or in China’s internal affairs. Beijing’s office in Hong Kong affairs said Lai’s sentence reflected Hong Kong’s determination in safeguarding national security.'

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Discord Goes Into Damage Control Mode Over New Age Verification Requirements, Promising There’s Nothing To See Here For ‘Vast Majority’ Of Users
Discord Goes Into Damage Control Mode Over New Age Verification Requirements, Promising There’s Nothing To See Here For ‘Vast Majority’ Of Users

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Ring ends partnership with surveillance firm after backlash from Super Bowl commercial (youtube.com)
Ring said the technology can find lost dogs only and has ‘no capability to find people’.

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Definitely Only for Dogs: Ring's Superbowl Commercial (Parody) (youtube.com)
This is the parody ad. From 3 days ago and it has 150k views.

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'I call it censorship by procurement. States seek to say, under the threat of perquition (legal search), fine, what you may say or not say, and thereby control what you will have access to as information to your users.

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‘I ask that all light be shed on this situation.'

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Toronto Police scandal reveals: Your personal info is not safe with the cops (youtube.com)
Police have data on people, and they use it to sell to criminals so criminals can do crime on those, and use it to find women to try to have relationships with, spy on exes and their families, misusing Covid19 portals' data.

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This is why you don't want to allow carding (stopping citizens who are not doing anything criminally suspicious and demanding they give info or their card), the guy argues.

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If any police office has info to your data, it's likely they all have access.
Major retailer asks man to sign confidentiality agreement for refund (youtube.com)

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Some Colorado residents carrying additional ID amid federal immigration enforcement (youtube.com)
Latinos carrying their passport, because they get challenged regularly or questioned about their citizenship.

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The expert said what people are regularly seeing is ICE agents ‘just bulldozing through those protections [that Americans don’t need to carry or show ID to police] around reasonable suspicion and probable cause, to just handcuff people and sweep them away.'

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‘You feel angry. You feel disappointed.’

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'Farm Bill' threatens First Amendment rights, critics say (youtube.com)
Florida Farm Bill. Financially punish anyone who criticizes or speaks about (including journalists) agricultural companies. 'If you post about a (agricultural) product, that you don't like it, it absolutely could open you up to liability.' In a lawsuit, the companies would be able to recover attorney fees if they are sued, but if the defendent (regular person or journalist) wins, he has to cover his own costs.

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Texas teen accused in race-based bullying case awarded $3.2M in damages by jury (youtube.com)
A 13 year old black student made claims that a white student did degrading things to him (including illegal acts outside any consideration of racism), and BLM groups got involved and called it race based bullying. Upon investigation things didn't seem to add up, the white student was never charged. The white student brought a civil suit against the mother of the black student. Intentional infliction of emotional distress and invasion of privacy.

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At the time, the 13 year old felt scared and little, and like no one would listen to him. Now he feels like people will help him. But he said, shaking his head, ‘No I don’t feel that my reputation's been restored. I don't know when it will. I don't know if it ever will. But the people heard me, and they fought for me, and all we can try to do is get it restored now.'

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They did do (potentially considered) degrading things to the black student, but it was a group of friends and the black student fell asleep first and they'd said whoever falls asleep gets pranked. No racism in it. There is video of the black student drinking the urine/apple juice drink but afterwards laughing it off and the group continued as friends. One of the friends videoed it, too, and the black student didn't know about the video, it seems ... After a video game argument, one of the students shared the video which was reshared many times and made its way to the black student's mother, who went to the school and wanted the white student expelled.

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The black student's mother appeared on Good Morning America and other shows, hundreds of people marched to the white student's house to demonstrate.

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The father of the white student wanted to get his voice out there, but in a way that wouldn't be ‘trial by social media.’ In the trial, the lawyer of the white student's family had the chance to 'go step by step with the jury through the process of what really happened, what the investigation shows, the actual facts, and then how those facts were spun for publicity and profit by [the mother of the black student and their lawyer].

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In order for the white student's family to win their case, the jury had to find that the black student's mother and their lawyer ‘took facts that were not true and cast in false light, and did it for a reason in order to cause him severe emotional distress.’

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The mother of the black student made a statement pointing out that the case doesn't involve slander or defamation of character, and that she will appeal.

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The white student's family's lawyer commented that the reason defamation wasn't in the trial was that Texas' short statute of limitations ruled it out but that it was part of the events. He said that the black student's camp continued to push a false narrative of racism that they know did not exist.

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His point was, ‘You are for free speech. Ok, where is the role of ’free algorhythm'?' He wants a transparent road for how speech is arranged and presented, but he also does make anti-free speech statements. He said ‘I want, by the way, to have sort of public order. I want to avoid racist speech, hate speech.’

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He made a comment also about wanting platforms to include multiple languages (not just English and Chinese), because that is the best way to avoid hegemony of ideology and ethnocentrism (my words) .

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COVID travel ban considered by Supreme Court: Was it a win for freedom? (youtube.com)
No general right to move around freely in Canada (subject to government's approval).

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Freedom.gov: US Website to Bypass UK & EU Online Safety Laws (youtube.com)
Some US states have also tried bringing in ‘age verificiation’ de anonymizing internet usage.

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Governments usually enforce internet rules, he notes. Yeah, so if they do that around 99% of the time, what do you think you should look for in this action which might not be the superficial part?

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Various internets for various countries.

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Why all Canadians’ rights are at stake in the Supreme Court challenge of Quebec’s Bill 21 (youtube.com)
Quebec used the constitution to force some Canadians to not wear some religious symbols at work. (Canada is known for it's Federal government having an ‘anti-religion’ ‘secular’ purpose, with no mandate for this from the citizens).

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Department of War CTO on X (x.com)
Lethalitymaxxing, the US government against enemies of the state, both domestic and foreign? Daliwali

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‘National, provincial, and even local governments are hostile, belligerent organizations that are humiliating and impoverishing their own people. ’

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‘There has been a lot of uproar about DHS tracking dissidents and critics of ICE, Discord requiring ID verification, but none about how bullshit the existing NSA surveillance programs are.’ Daliwali
Russia opens criminal investigation against Telegram app founder Pavel Durov (apnews.com) on charges of “aiding terrorism.”

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“A sad spectacle of a state afraid of its own people,” Durov commented.

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‘The move triggered a rare wave of public outcry, including widespread criticism from pro-Kremlin military bloggers, who warned that Telegram was widely used by Russian troops fighting in Ukraine and restricting its service would derail military communications.’

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Federal Court judge rules in favor of Newton man arrested at city council meetings (youtube.com)
Speaking against, criticizing, police and mayor in a city council meeting, including using the word ‘fascist’, and he was arrested for disorderly conduct and violating the city's rule against derogatory comments. They violated his Constitutional rights, the court found. The rule against derogatory comments is also unconstitutional.

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It seems Anthropic wanted to have 2 conditions, that their tech not be used to make weapons that have no human oversight, and that it not be used to mass surveil Americans, and she says Hegseth got angry at this. She asked, Why wouldn’t Hegseth be like fine, we're never going to use this for mass surveillance of Americans? Why wouldn't he be fine with that?

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He would give no answers about whether the government can or is surveilling Americans. He ‘deferred.’ He just said that he couldn't speak to those questions, ‘in this particular forum.’

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Toronto man's credit card frozen after paying off balance
He paid off his large balance all in one go (even though the amount was only 80% of his credit limit on that card), and that was suspicious for the bank, so they froze his credit, wihle he was on vacation in Portugal. CIBC bank. He only travels with one card. It was frozen for 14 days. He also uses that card for preapproved regular payments, which would also not go through.

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He found out when he tried to pay $5 for something. He had to log in and discover for himself. He called them.

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He's spoken to CIBC five times 'and their response is “Tough luck.”’

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Shortly after the news reported on it, the card was reactivated.

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He said he'll be taking some action when he gets back, he said. Will he, though, because all Canadian banks are bad and have been for a long time, if you go on any online forum and read what people have to say you'll see this.

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Private member's bill to abolish B.C.'s Human Rights Code shut down (youtube.com)
‘Repeal the Human Rights Code that the Left is using to punish and profit from anyone who doesn’t adopt their views.' Armstrong stated, citing the $750k fine levied against a BC school board trustee for making comments about gender identity. BC premier Eby called out Conservatives for voting for the bill. Conservatives said that even though they voted for the bill it doesn't mean they agree with it (which, maybe, because it's traditional for everyone to vote for a bill on first reading regardless).

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That line, ‘Repeal the Human Rights Code that the Left is using to punish and profit from anyone who doesn’t adopt their views,' does that rhyme with historical tyrannies?

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Attorney general announces indictment against 30 more people who protested at a Minnesota church (apnews.com)
“YOU CANNOT ATTACK A HOUSE OF WORSHIP. If you do so, you cannot hide from us — we will find you, arrest you, and prosecute you,” she wrote in the post. “This Department of Justice STANDS for Christians and all Americans of faith.”

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‘In total, 39 people have been charged over the church protest and all are charged with conspiracy against religious freedom and interfering with the right of religious freedom.’

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Don Lemon arrested: Footage of Minnesota church protest against ICE tied showed scenes before arrest (youtube.com)
This video shows footage of the church protest. Did the protesters impede movement of people? or could the people leave but just more slowly because there were simply people standing there?

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The reason they chose that church is that one of the pastors was identified as a field office directory for ICE.

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License plate readers hidden along roadways across San Diego, Imperial Counties (youtube.com)
Disguised as trailers or construction barrels, cones. Not known which federal agency is operating them. Border areas. State-owned roads.

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The talk is about privacy concerns and also that the device placement bypasses state laws which protect state residents from the federal government by prohibiting that local law enforcement share that data with the federals. They can't control what they do with the data, but they can (other than this) control what happens on state property.

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CBP and DEI puchased ones that fit these designs, so locals can only guess that's whose they are.

February 1, 2026
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Search Once. See Everything? Inside Flock NOVA (youtube.com)

DHS Invokes Immigration Enforcement To Justify Gathering Americans' DNA
DHS Invokes Immigration Enforcement To Justify Gathering Americans

Anti-ICE protesters assemble across the US after shootings in Minneapolis and Portland, Oregon. AP

Anti-ICE nationwide protests in photos
Anti-ICE nationwide protests in photos (apnews.com)

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'How do I know you’re a US citizen?' ICE agent confronted by protest after questioning man in MN (youtube.com)
‘Nazi.’

What mades a Nazi in 1940 included a belief that the in group race was the superior race, racism (antisemitism), totalitarianism, and that the homeland (Germany) needed to expand its territory into Eastern Europe to provide land and resources for the superior race.

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Protesters clash with border patrol outside ICE facility in Minneapolis (youtube.com)
When the government (agents always) violate the people's rights, it goes smoothly and progresses so long as there is no resistence. When anyone stands up, they're usually hurt or suffer persecution, but everyone who sees their mistreatment has to make a real choice, and many people chose to fight back.

For public figures, it's more immediate. People like podcasters and influencers, as well as politicians, are asked and must come up with their answer about a very specific event, and their choice is between the government (agents) and the people (often protesters or activists, or someone who encountered an agent), generally. If they come out for the government, they will lose half their fans, sometimes. But in any case, it's hard to sit on the fence, which is what many of them try to do.

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LA County landscapers say they were almost taken by ICE despite having documentation (youtube.com)

Connecticut legislators plan to ban biometric surveillance (facial recognition) in retail environments
Connecticut legislators plan to ban biometric surveillance (facial recognition) in retail environments

California rolls out the DROP platform... residents can now request data brokers delete their personal info (health data) from a single portal
California rolls out the DROP platform... residents can now request data brokers delete their personal info from a single portal

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Plane used in boat strike off Venezuela was painted to look like a civilian aircraft, AP sources say (apnews.com)
US military aircraft disguised as civilian. ‘Appears to be at odds with the Pentagon’s manual on the laws of war.’ Perfidy. ‘...Also was carrying munitions in the fuselage, rather than beneath the aircraft, raising questions about the extent to which the operation was disguised in ways that run contrary to military protocol.’

‘The Navy’s manual explains that “attacking enemy forces while posing as a civilian puts all civilians at hazard,” and sailors must use offensive force “within the bounds of military honor, particularly without resort to perfidy.”’

US (Hegseth) also won't release the full unedited video of where he supposedly bombed shipwrecked civilians.

“There’s an ongoing question whether the use of military can be for bringing a person to justice,” Welch said.'

...

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Miami Beach woman outraged after police question her over Facebook post criticizing mayor (youtube.com)
The police at her door said ‘We are just trying to prevent somebody else getting agitaged or agreeing with the statement. We’re not saying it's true or not.' The idea was that it was an incitement to violence or something. There was a question of ‘safety implication’ for the police, reportedly.

The video shows the post she made and it was a regular, political, ridiculous post.

She wants to know what led to the officers showing up at her door.

...

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ICE Is Using a Terrifying Palantir App to Determine Where to Raid
'Everybody is in privatized geo-located databases now apparently

‘The app’s “Geospatial Lead Sourcing Tab” allows ICE agents to select targets based on a number of criteria, including “Bios & IDs,” “Criminality,” “Location,” and “Operations,” the user guide shows. Using the app, ICE agents can select individual targets or multiple targets at once by drawing a shape around a selected area. During a sworn deposition earlier this month about a “dragnet” raid in Woodburn, Oregon, an officer with ICE’s Fugitive Operations Unit said that agents used the app to find target-rich areas.’

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Federal government loses Emergencies Act appeal
and
Federal Court of Appeal to rule on Liberals

‘[470] The most egregious problem with the Economic Order, in our view, is that personal banking information belonging to individuals who were suspected of having committed offences under the Regulations could be shared with the RCMP and CSIS without a warrant or any form of prior authorization, which information could well have provided evidence of offences under the Regulations.’

Commenter. 'The ultimate outcome here will almost certainly be a re-writing of the emergencies act to make it easier to use. While I mostly agree that the court's ruling is probably correct, the people who sued will do nothing but make the act more applicable as the government looks at it ad broadens its language to make it applicable to more situations.'

Commenter. 'I am very thankful that the rule of law prevailed against political will. To be honest, when this whole thing began, I wasn't sure it would.' Reply. ‘People were so burnt out and bloodthirsty two years into the pandemic with an “out group” in their crosshairs. I think the madness has passed and now everyone can look at the situation a bit more clearly.’

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Google asks us judge defer order forcing it share data while it appeals (reuters.com)

Manitoba's justice minister says province won't support federal gun buyback program
Manitoba

Starlink updates Privacy Policy to allow AI model training with personal data
Starlink updates Privacy Policy to allow AI model training with personal data
You can opt out Starlink Privacy Policy - Starlink Help Center (starlink.com)

1. Click the Edit Profile button

2. Scroll to the bottom of the page and remove the check next to “Share personal data with Starlink’s trusted collaborators to train AI models.”

3. Click the Save button.

How would they if the data are encrypted E2E? They'll probably just train on what they can - SNI, IP addresses, DNS, etc.

Tesla's FSD (Full Self Driving) feature will be subscription-only from February 14
Tesla


Banning hate groups in Australia (youtube.com)

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Vietnam’s New Social Credit is INSANE! (copies China!!) (youtube.com)
'Your freedom is dependent is controlled by a number inside an app controlled by someone else. A score for being a bad citizen.' Your digital money could have an expiry date. You could be banned from travel.

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ICE agents are being told they can enter homes without a judge's warrant (youtube.com)
Legally force entry without a warrant, with just an administrative warrant required.

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Minnesotans hold 'economic blackout' to protest ICE crackdown (youtube.com)

Also, the Mineapolis FBI agent who was investigating the ICE agent who shot Rene Good, had been pressured to drop the investigation, and then he recently resigned, NYT reported.

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Why are passports of American citizens flagged by the government? (youtube.com)
By error, people's passports are flagged as ‘lost or stolen’ by Interpol. They take off fine, but when they arrive at a new country they're not allowed to enter the country and are detained until they're back on US soil. The guy in the video, his new passport was flagged as lost before he even received it. Technically, the only person who can flag it as lost or stolen is the passport owner, and he didn't do that.

Microsoft will assist the FBI in unlocking your Windows PC data if asked
Microsoft will assist the FBI in unlocking your Windows PC data if asked

Microsoft Starts Sharing Your Location With Your Employer
Microsoft Starts Sharing Your Location With Your Employer

TikTok US venture to collect precise user location data
TikTok US venture to collect precise user location data

Pakistani human rights lawyers jailed for 17 years over social media posts (apnews.com)

Information

September 1, 2026 - Private-message-to-police pipeline, Scholarship behind closed doors, Reddit users indexed, Camera glasses conflict
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Apple engineer says he was fired after refusing to send customer device IDs to AT&T (reddit.com)

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Student Teacher Sent a Private Snapchat Complaining About Her Workday. An Hour Later, Police Pulled Up to Her School. - Volpe’s arrest demonstrates a pre-built, operational pipeline connecting private messages to law enforcement. (reddit.com)

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Eva Vlaardingerbroek, The media attacks are ramping up. (youtube.com)

Someone recently suggested that good information, good scholarship, theories, hypothesis, is no longer something to be obtained publicly (ie "I have this data to report but I can't because it contradicts my professor"), but rather in backrooms of universities. Here's one,

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Your public Reddit post and comment history is being actively indexed by search engines and AI to build comprehensive user profiles. (reddit.com)

Comment. 'Yes, it was announced a while ago that Reddit had signed licensing agreements with major AI labs for this reason. It also why a lot of marketing advice these days is about posting your brand/product on Reddit to get cited by AI models. These reasons combined is why Reddit now is mostly bots.

So, there will be a lot of bot user profiles and real user profiles together.´

Lots of commenters on this started posting fake personal information about themselves, fake statements. 

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Camera glasses giving rise to troubling social media content | 7.30 (youtube.com)

In Australia, the use of hidden cameras in public places is generally legal.' It's generally allowed to film inside public businesses (coffee shops for example) also.

Comments on the video got ‘paused’. All pre-pauscomments were for banning the glasses/tech. 'Informed consent' ‘Invasion of personal space / privacy.’

Australia's Privacy Commissioner has been taked by the AG to make recommendations on the tech. Theft of personal info, business espionage, vulnerable groups were some of the issues she's aware of.

August 1, 2026
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Europeans Shocked by the REAL America: "We Have Never Seen Kindness Like This!" (youtube.com)

This is just an example of a trend of SM videos about Europeans (and others) in the US for the first time and being so surprised by how great everything is, from food portions, to quality of groceries and clothing in big box stores.

This seems a bit suspect though, since it aligns with the White House's desires so closely, and it seems exactly the kind of thing intelligence/SM/marketing political skills in the US government could manipulate.

It's not like it's the first time Europeans have been to America. About 14m Europeans visit USA every year.

World Cup only is expected to bring 1.2m international visitors (and we might expect a ton of those to be Latinos and Asians).

Europeans visiting USA decreased in 2026, 7% lower than 2025. And bookings for World Cup and for host US cities also down.

Even search AI notes that the recent SM viral posts represent a small amount of the overall visitors.

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Two teens charged with using AI to generate sexual content of their classmates (youtube.com)

This is literally CTV News' headline. with a thumbnail of a surprised and distraught young woman. Who is their editor?

July 1, 2026
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US and Iran trade blows, say different things about a deal and more | Iran war this week (youtube.com)

News agencies don't even care to report what the Iran or US governments say anymore. Just that they said some things and the actual actions.

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Why Is Everyone Afraid To Say This? | Gad Saad (youtube.com)

After every attack, they note, the media gives a ton of reasons. Poverty, climate change, SM, lack of opportunity, video games, but never the reason the attacker himself gave. The attacker's own reason is ignored, basically. Often, government hides an attacker's manifesto, posts, comments. Gad Saad says the West has become increasingly afraid to confront uncomfortable truths.

He also argued that it's not a good idea to constantly create a false division between 'Islam' and 'islamism' and says they're basically the same thing, or are parts of each other, a political movement that says we will all be united once we all accept this same treatise or religion.

Kind of an old point, I remember trying to cover this like 15 years ago, but he gives a long list of countries where the bulk of the 44k terror attacks committed in the name of a religion happened, and shows 85% were Islam, 10% Jewish, 3% Christian, 3% Hindu.

The reasons for the attacks are given to the public as 'lone wolf', 'studying engineering', 'Western corruption,' 'Jewish conspiracy,' historical events like The Crusades. The attacker's posts or the people close to him aren't investigated for his motive.

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Hot Mic Captures Carney's Awkward Exchange With Trump At G7 | APT (youtube.com)

Hot mics at diplomatic meetings? How about some professionals doing the media work there?

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People saying 'fraud in America' (lots of activity in that topic) and 'polymarket' in the same sentence.

June 1, 2026
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TikTokers 'raid' Scientology buildings and post them onlilne (youtube.com)

Speedrunners on Hollywood Blvd, blitzing the scientology videos, making content for SM.

They're being criticized for not doing anything serious, not bringing any substantive info out. Just doing it for clicks. 'Turning something serious into content.'

Viral stunts.

LAPD investigating it as an 'alleged hate crime.'

Scientology can claim victimhood, basically correctly now.

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A Hacker Found The BitLocker Backdoor (youtube.com)

Ie Windows.

The way authorities have been accessing people's Windows computer without having to get login info.

Usually hackers keep the hack secret, but this hacker felt 'he'd been wronged by Microsoft' so he made it public, instead of telling Microsoft and getting money ('bug bounty') for finding one of their vulnerabilities. But it's only up to $60k it looks like, and then there's a problem of how to get paid.

In this case, the hacker said that Microsoft didn't hold up their end of the bargain for a bug bounty, so they published it, the hacker wrote.

Top comment. 'Its not a backdoor, its a window'

tldr? Don't use Windows, or any Microsoft product, ever. Not Discord, not Github, not Skype.

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Katja Hoyer on becoming Germany's controversial historian | New Statesman (youtube.com)

When historians are unpopular...

She's from the east of Germany, where Germans are most disaffected, which she compares with Northern England, and people say well you report on the East Germany and that's not representative of how Germans feel and think, but after a few years it turns out they were just first or quickest to respond, because now all Germany feels that way. Eastern anomalies are now part of the national story.

People feel politicians should be doing political change on a level that's quite drastic, quite bold, and they're seeing tinkering from politicians and the people are angry.

Figures that would have been shocking in East Germany a few years ago, like 20% support for the far right parties, are now what's seen in western German elections.

Not disimilar to the 1920s.

May 1, 2026
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The Company That Owns the Language of Color (youtube.com)

Pantone.

'One of the largest corporate espionage and data breach scandals in digital history': New "BrowserGate" report claims LinkedIn secretly scans user browsers for installed extensions and collects device data' One of the largest corporate espionage and data breach scandals in digital history (old.reddit.com)

They took the CIA World Factbook offline.

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A Statement by First Lady Melania Trump (youtube.com)

This is the Melania statement.

Hearing her speak, it sounds like maybe she didn't write it, or much of it, but it seems like it might be part of the general social fight against people just publishing fake news for profit or politics. Who wants lies told about them, in such a way like about how you met your husband?

Comments turned off by the White House channel. But makes sense in this case.

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SpaceX-Cursor Deal, SaaS Debt Bomb, New Apple CEO, SPLC Indictment, Colon Cancer Spike (youtube.com)

Racism Industrial Complex workings public now. SPLC, a chartity group (or whatever) that collects money and pays people to infiltrate (white) racist groups, ostensibly, has taken in hundreds of millions of dollars over the past decade. They're being charged now.

They pay the same white racist groups to cause racist problems which they can then use to justify the need for their group. They foment racism, paying groups to foment protests, in order to say USA has a big racism problem. Grift. They opened bank accounts under fictitious entities so their donors wouldn't know they were funding the KKK etc. Because their movie star donors wouldn't want to give money to that.

SPLC's story is they weren't fomenting racism, they were not planning, they were monitoring. But SPLC was paying the leaders of these groups, not moles who were infiltrating the groups, and they were paying not to inform but to foment, said Sacks.

If you show me an incentive, you're going to see an outcome.

Give it to your friends in the media.

We make it easier for these organizations to get money, to hide money, and to do whatever they want with the money. Friedburg.

April 1, 2026
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Israel releases footage of what it says is strike on headquarters of Iranian leadership (youtube.com)

Will Israel ever again be able to release anything, even video footage, and news organizations take it as face value or don't qualify it as maybe not true?

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Seniors given opportunity to learn life-saving tips (youtube.com)

Barrie City's emergency officers basically holding a class.

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Why were flights headed to Montreal airport grounded Wednesday? (youtube.com)

Fighter jets in air.

The two men were carrying some kind of package boarding flights and US airports flagged them, and it escalated. They did not have anything dangerous, it seems, because they 'may still face fraud-related charges.'

CBC (the 'public broadcaster') turned comments off on the video.

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Handwritten manuscript from Boston gangster Whitey Bulger released in court documents (youtube.com)

Whitey Bulger said he never intended to write a book (one was part-way done) except rival gangsters in interviews were lying about him. His former hitman he saw free.

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AI is giving bad advice to flatter its users, says new study on dangers of overly agreeable chatbots (apnews.com)

User-tailored information. Competition for users. The chatbot that gives the most pleasant experience might win with most people. Most people like to hear flattery and agreement.

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The Corporate Ripoff Scheme Looting Your Pocketbook (youtube.com)

'What really happens when you sign up for store rewards'

March 1, 2026
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Google is killing authentic websites & I made it worse (youtube.com)
When Google deranks the best companies (Luis Rossman's computer repair shop) for whatever reason (whether just political, things specific to website, whatever), even though they have higher reviews earned over several years with a large staff which they've increased their salary of), it means that people start bringing Rossman lower quality jobs, like they bring Rossman (ranked 100 now instead of in the top 10) the computer or disk after they already took it to the number 6 ranked, less competent, shop has already done an attempt to fix it which just made it worse or currupted it more or whatever, so overall the entire repair market is worse, and the products people have are worse.

But anyway, Rossman redid his website, and it went down to like 100 rank. He asked Gemeni why, and Gemeni suggested using sterile, computer shop speak terms and phrases, instead of the regular language he's perfected over 20 years of doing business or whatever. He made those changes and the website rose steadily, within weeks, to top 10. He had Gemeni reword each page and those pages started ranking way better.

Now his website reads as the opposite of all the honest statements, based on experience with choices about tech repairs, and it ranks much better. In other words, what will be in the top 10 of Google, or will rank at all, will be insincere, keyword termy, information that can be produced by a chatbot instead of an experienced person. And information that is not true or honest, but says a certain set of algorhythmically approved things. Just do CTRL C and CTRL V, don't write your own content. Something organic can't rank.

‘The thing that made the most difference was just sitting there and typing ‘How would you reword this so that Google likes it?’' Not changing the code, making it faster, etc.

Same with taking his voice and turning it into a Gemeni voice that Google likes.

Google is taking away the incentive structure to be authentic, it seems.

Discussion in many places has been replaced by reddit and Twitter.

He also said he regularly searched for and read some website abot Space. But recently he can hear the AI generated end dashes and things while he reads the new content. The videos have 500k or 1m views, the channels are doing great. People are using the AI stuff because it works.

Need another internet. Not end the current one, which is owned by Google. Have a Gemeni created website there, but have a real website on the other internet. Have real videos on the other internet, and make AI versions automatically generated to post on the Google internet.

For sure, content on Google internet will get worse and more streamlined to be compliant with AI approval, and no one will make anything they actually value. That will open up a massive space for a better internet to compete.

He expressed some shame that in the past, he modified what he wanted to say to be more successful. That he realized he had a principle, and gave up that principle because he had to chose between firing 6 staff or editing his website to be somethign he's sort of ashamed of, he's chosing the latter. He's giving up principles in one area to not have to fire people. ‘Who is going to chose to lose out on business?’ ‘I hate doing this. It makes me sick to my stomach, to change my wording choices, to placate an algorhythm. I want to have my voice come through. If you want to do business, great, if you don’t they don't.'

...

DOJ Epstein files dump fuels 'broader political schism surrounding elites vs. the people' - Analyst (youtube.com)

Daily Mail: Epstein's 'sex empire' was 'honeytrap' directed by the KGB • FRANCE 24 English (youtube.com)
France24.

Government says it's fixing redactions in Epstein-related files that may have had victim information (apnews.com)

Epstein files: AI photos circulate of Zohran Mamdani’s mother at party • FRANCE 24 English (youtube.com)

Clintons reverse course, agree to testify in House Epstein inquiry | Elizabeth Vargas Reports (youtube.com)

The dark side of the 2016 Challenge (youtube.com)

Clintons finalize agreement to testify in House Epstein probe, bowing to threat of contempt vote (youtube.com)

Rep. Lieu Says Epstein files Have Allegations of Trump Raping & Threatening to Kill Children (youtube.com)
CSPAN. No other headlines or statements (allegations by others) on this topic for the day.

Epstein Files Claim Adolf Hitler Lived in Shelter Funded by Wealthy Families in Vienna | APT (youtube.com)
APT

Did this billionaire lie about getting s*xually assa*lted? (feat. @AnaPsychology ) (youtube.com)
Autobiography.

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RCMP, media, government all lying about horrific BC shooting: Ezra Levant (youtube.com)
It seems that in Canada there's generally a few days of censorship by government/police when there's this type of event. Been that way for years. It goes as far as giving false information, it seems.

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At police press conference. ‘We identify the suspect as they chose to be identified in public and in social media. I can say that Jesse was born as a biological male who ... approximately 6 years ago began to transition to female....’

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The issue is that the government warning message pushed out to people's phones (emergency message service you can't turn off in Canada) warned of a ‘female’ shooter. So how are people supposed to be on the lookout? Some other information agencies said ‘female identifying’ which is more descriptive.

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Manifestos are frequently covered up by police, reportedly and seemingly.

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AI's rapid development sparks resignations from industry heavyweights | ABC NEWS (youtube.com)
AI generated article that depicted an argument betwen the news presenter and a bank CEO. The fake article has him tearing off his mic and storming off the set. The article was shared on SM.

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How are companies using sponsored ads to divert customers from local businesses? (youtube.com)
There's a local company called Waterloo Appliance Services, a legit long time company. But someone else outbids them for the Google search term ‘Waterloo appliance service’ and they put ‘same day service’ on their ad, and everyone searches and clicks this, but the website just diverts to another company that charges a bigger fee and doesn't even fix the appliances, reportedly.

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Google's ad business is so profitable they won't change (fix) this issue, the expert said. The best way for the legit company to fix this is to either pay more money to get the top ad rank or to change their name.

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Epstein Files Special: Prince Andrew Arrested, Global Network, Mythology, Reid Hoffman Files (youtube.com)
The Epstein economy/industry is talked about here. That news and bloggers are incentivized to publish the opposite of journalism for clicks. That $1b has been paid to purported victims who are ‘allowed to just reimagine things that happened to them 20 years before, as an adult, not as a child, and call themselves a sex trafficking victim, and then they can secure a couple million dollars tax free from JPM and the media will hail them as these brave survivors without doing a single thing to check the veracity of any of their claims.’ The redactions could be to protect disruption of the Epstein industry. ... Government propaganda unthinkingly regurgitaded, that there are 1000 or thousands of victims, based on July 6 FBI DOJ memo. The revelations 'reveal that this number is a fraud' and includes a total number of possible victims and their family members. ‘The government deceiving the public about it.’

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At another point he talks about how someone wrote a book making accusations, which was the basis for the beginning of the news cycle (like 10 years ago and still ongoing), a book which later had to be like withdrawn or admitted as not factual by her (the writer's) lawyers, and there were all kinds of settlements paid by people who may not have even done anything but just didn't want the negative publicity (and you can see why).

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He likens the news story and the hysteria to the 80's Satanic Sex scare which imprisoned regular men and women, which was also based on nothing more than some unchallenged claims and took over the whole nation. I wrote a paper about this in college, actually, and also likened these things to the Salem (and other) witch trials. (Later in the video, David Sacks also mentions the comparison with Salem witch trials.) Will this be the same? People in general, even intelligent ones, will just hear something, believe it is true, partially because they're overexcited by the sexual content, commit to it with statements and also with their enjoyment of the theme, and then not admit the contradictory facts until they are forced to do so, after which they'll try to never talk of it again, and since they are 98% of the population, this will be effective. He uses the same word, ‘moral hysteria.’ ‘Witch hunts.’ ‘Feeding frenzy.’

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When Epstein died, Michael Tracy says, libel laws no longer applied, so all kinds of people came out to make any kind of claims they wanted. Epstein's estate was supposed to be around $600m, and an organization was set up to (non adversarially, ie no argument, and confidentially) evaluate claims and pay money. Then there were other funds set up by banks who were accused of not showing enough due dillegence when Epstein withdrew his money or something. JPM paid $290m (lawyers got 30%, not a contingency fee, but rather a judge approved payment to the attorneys) and Deutche Bank was $80m. Add that to the Epstein $120m.

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‘Speculation has replaced fact’ and people ‘just end up believing things that are totally false' because they just sort of ‘ambiently absorb’ retold stories.

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‘People think a lot of dumb things. Like, is there any evidence at all that would tie Reid Hoffman to some kind of c**** s** c****? No. So if people think that’s being covered up, they should be disabused of that fallacious notion, rather than countenancing the notion and allowing the mass hysteria proliferating unhindered.'

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‘What are we talking about here? Ultimately, we’re like in this other domain of like, who can establish the most damning guilt by association even though nobody can spell out what the guilt is supposed to be tied to.'

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Tracy also described what a lot of people have said over recent years, ‘What is trafficing?’ it can mean anything nowadays and basically means nothing, like ‘terrorism' (he didn't mention tihs).'Trafficking is an incredibly nebulous concept. It's very much open to the whims and discretion of prosecutors who seek to fit some fact pattern to a desire to prosecute somebody for some sort of sexually related offense. If it involves simply the movement from point A to point B. So if adult women consentually flew on an airplane to go visit a luxury island in the Caribbean and over the course of that visit maybe they engage in some consentual ... act, and then 20 years later they can retroactively classify it as trafficking and that will entitle them to millions of dollars in tax free settlement money, are we going to take at face value that that constututes trafficking? Because I don't.'

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It can also not be used as the ‘number one political battering ram against your enemies.’ Democrats are using it to undercut Trump, almost like the new Russiagate. Also International, ravaging Norway, UAE, UK royals, political figures forced to resign just for having emailed with the guy.

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Tracy said he was facinated with ‘just how people come to believe such mythological things.’ And ‘the journalistic malfeasance.’ Without any ‘counterveiling point of view.’

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‘It’s probably the most explosive thing to tell the mass public, in terms of what it might incite particular people with a particular mental instability to do, and that's just one of the potentially detrimental effects of all of this, that I think it should be rationally countered to the maximum extent possible, and I think we're going to be beset with this issue for the forseeable future. ... We should be cognizant of the real world ramifications, intead of just speaking of it in the abstract...'

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‘The mob does not like being accused of being a mob,’ commented Sacks. ‘And their defence mechanism seems to be to accuse anyone who points out some of these problems in the logic of basically somehow being involved...'

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PA florist says sponsored ad used her business name without permission (youtube.com)
They heard from customers who had done a Google search for her business had got a Google result that looks like Scentiment's Floral, because that is the big blue name displayed in the result (she has a screenshot), but that is for the domain for Burkittsfloral, a competitor in the area, linked to Bloomex.

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The expert advises to go below the sponsored results to get real results. However, seems pretty fair to say regular people aren't going to do that, especially since Google is known to provide best results and the top result looked like what they would be looking for.

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CIA offers tips to potential informants in Iran as Trump considers military action (apnews.com)
Spending their resources? How many countries are going to continue using the tech (phones and apps) that allow a hostile nation to manipulate data gleaned from their citizens against them?

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Meta-Smartness: Infinite Advantage in a World of Cheap Intelligence (youtube.com)
Problem identifying and communication to an AI. How to not scale wrong, since AI scales mistakes. Epistemic discipline, verification, sceptical. Execution, managing other people and fears, translating into outcomes. Quality, refined, curation, avoidance of low quality high output. Systems built around AI, not just use of AI, turning AI into production of results. Overcoming political, logical constraints in audience.

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‘Ask for assumptions explicitly’ before starting. Verify and plan what can be done in the period of work.

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...
Thomson Reuters reports CoCounsel has 1 million users, shares soar (youtube.com)
An AI platform for feduciaries, model agnostic (rn it's Claude). They also made their own Thompson model.

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He says the results are feduciary grade, not the unacceptable 95% correct that most models do.

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BREAKING: Hillary Clinton Said She Was Asked About UFOs, Pizzagate During Epstein Probe Testimony (youtube.com)
First time Hillary has been interesting in the news in years? She comes across here as a normal person in America, basically, which was refreshing sort of, and which may show that people are at their best when they're on the defensive and when a powerful authority is unjustly against them.

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She said it was ‘disappointing they wouldn’t hold a public hearing so I wouldn't have to be out here characterizing it for you, you could have seen it for yourself. We had asked for that. ...'

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However, when a reporter asked if she'd do her own public hearing, she said, ‘Oh, I’m not going to do it again. They had a chance to do it in public, and I wish they'd done it in public.' And there went any sympathy anyone might have had with her for the first 5 minutes of her podium? Same old Hillary.

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She said they'd agreed upon rules for the hearing but one member violated the rules, which suggests ‘they might violate other of our agreements.’

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She said they asked him repetitively the same questions, and she had to just give the same answer over and over. No Republican member asked any Epstein/Maxwell questions of any other person they'd deposed, Hillary said.

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What about Bill Clinton, photos, etc, a reporter asked. She said the chronology ended before 2008.

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OpenAI says Tumbler Ridge shooter bypassed ChatGPT ban with 2nd account | Hanomansing Tonight (youtube.com)
Now they'll notify police about peoples accounts even if they don't say anything explicitly threatnening.

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Hungary election campaign shows risks of AI ads | DW News (youtube.com)
The misuses might not be people who risk stable politics but politicians who risk stable people?

February 1, 2026
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'We Have Audio Recordings…': Iran Minister Stuns Israel & USA, Demolishes Trump Plan To 'Intervene'? (youtube.com)
‘We have audio recordings’ Iran.

Bill and Hillary Clinton refuse to testify to Congress about Epstein (youtube.com)
‘Rraising new questions about the limits of congressional power to compel testimony.’

Clintons refuse to testify in House Epstein probe as Republicans threaten contempt proceedings (apnews.com)

Free Starlink access for Iran seen as game changer for demonstrators getting their message out (apnews.com)
Or for US to manipulate the SM and information streams shown to Iranians?

Beijing tells chinese firms stop using us israeli cybersecurity software sources (reuters.com)

Chinas customs agents told nvidias h200 chips are not permitted sources say (reuters.com)
‘Chinese government officials also summoned domestic technology companies to meetings on Tuesday where they were explicitly instructed not to purchase the chips unless necessary, two of the people and a third source said.’

Sales of the chips to China were only approved by the US government this week.

Massive Data Breach Hits 750,000 Canadian Investors (youtube.com)
Phishing. Subset of data copied away, they say, collected during compliance reviews.

Full names, dob, phone numbers, SIN numbers, government IDs, annual income, investment ID numbers and account statements.

Banking should involve a government issued fake ID, a security layer between scammers and customers.

...

Wikipedia inks AI deals with Microsoft, Meta and Perplexity as it marks 25th birthday (apnews.com)



Palantir Works for Every President (youtube.com)

45 million French records exposed in massive privacy breach — what we know so far
45 million French records exposed in massive privacy breach — what we know so far

Science

September 1, 2026 - Masculine sports
June 1, 2026
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Does rejection therapy actually work? - What in the World podcast, BBC World Service (youtube.com)

But the second or fouth one, I didn't even mind if they said yes or no.

'If someone rejects me, I decide how that makes me feel.'

The benefits of speaking to strangers.

May 1, 2026
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The Vicious Tactics of Female Sexual Competition - Dr Dani Sulikowski (youtube.com)

Will women be barred from decision-making positions?

She raises an interesting idea about the sociey destruction of feminization, which is that yes, it causes reproduction to stop, and maybe there are then only a few thousand genetic lines, but you're one of them, and then it gets invaded and taken over and then breeding causes a massive population explosion, those thousand lines then increase much more than they would otherwise. She compares it to Musical Chairs.

It looks like a giant conspiracy, crazy. But it is just the emergent properties of this type of reproducive game.

Masculine men won't let this happen. They're beginning to self organize, and plenty of women are joining these groups. For this counter society to happen, you have to have men that are imasculinized, who are prepared to let it happen.

Women are good, when they're pushing an ideology, of creating an apparent consensus, but the opposition is there, maybe even the majority, just you have to find them and connect with them.

Her other unresolved take was that her original premise was that feminism started out as a movement to improve things for some people (women) but it was then coopted and all successive waves were about reducing reproduction. But she was unable to find a time when it was benevolent, so she is considering that feminism was never about benevolent action and was always about reducing reproduciton of other women. ... There was never a time when women were treated worse than men, so why is it that when feminism arrived, women were psychologically prepared to support it? They weren't oppressed systematically by a patriarch, so why did they want what feminism demanded? Well, I'm not sure women weren't oppressed in their pre-1950's households, or there wasn't an authentic salespitch that you can do more things and have more things if you organize and demand it.

Anecdotally, another scientist woman said that she was seeing in the generation now aged 20 to 25, and in her own family, people are starting to get married younger, different from what has been the norm. ... What is the relationship to this and OF/people not having sex/men not wanting to even try with Western women?

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ANDREW Explains To Them WHY NOBODY'S Getting MARRIED #freshandfit #podcast #andrewtate (youtube.com)

The ideas are making their way into pop culture, too. That girls should be anti-feminism.

Also the idea of an 18 year old girl and a 45 year old man who'll take care of them, they have kids, they behave themselves.

Gotta hand it to Tate for being interested in the subject enough to talk and talk about this with people he'll never see again. But I guess it's his career.

April 1, 2026
February 1, 2026
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New study finds that dogs are smarter than originally thought (youtube.com)
Not much information though.

‘About 50 percent of the data in Australia’s biodiversity database now comes from citizen scientists — everyday Australians sharing photos on the platform iNaturalist.’ The Year in Cheer (reasonstobecheerful.world)

World

September 1, 2026 - Gang protection, Spain/Morocco mass crossings, Lake America strategy successful, Asian economies trends
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The wars seems to be inensifying gradually still. Russia, moreso than in Ukraine territory? Iran and the Middle East states. Israel-Palestine continues as for years. China threat still mentioned sometimes in politics, mostly as regards need for funding for tech/AI/datacenters, but not a major topic. Not a lot of headlines on African conflicts. 

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Former gang members help protect Venice residents from homeless people (youtube.com). 

#Yakuza?

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Why Did 60,000 Migrants Cross from Morocco into Spain's Ceuta? Moroccan Dutch Professor Explains (youtube.com)

Repression in Morocco has increased, Gen Z Protests like in India et al. Pro-Palestine protests, banning of protests. The small group of rich Moroccans are getting much richer, citizens don't enjoy the benefits, she said. EU is exporting the dirty work of controlling migration to Morocco (who is expected to stop migration from other countries in Africa). Africans think it is safe to go to spain becaues that expectation has been created in Europe, where people talk like Yeah they're illegal migrants but we accept them because we need them. Viral news spread on Facebook. Recently, border controls in Morocco were reduced, and there might be a geopolitical reason, borders are used as leverage in negotiations.

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YouTube (youtube.com)

People have noted that tons of government funding goes to AI, data centers, spying, organizations, beurocracy.

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World War 3 or global poly-crisis? Russia, Iran, Ukraine and the expanding conflict | DW News (youtube.com)

For some reason, people seem still unable to just decline or reject their governments calls to go to war. Who really cares if Crimea or Ukraine belongs to Ukraine or Russia? What is the difference for anyone except the politicians?

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"We’ll Always Call It Lake Ontario," Canada Hits Back at Trump Over Lake Ontario Renaming | AC1N (youtube.com)

Meanwhile, renaming of towns, streets, islands continues elsewhere in Canada, mostly to give Indian names to things that had British names.

September 1, 2026, Iran and Lebanon War
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How likely are military strikes to resume as US-Iran 60-day ceasefire expires? | DW News (youtube.com)

I guess all this was during a ceasefire.

Reportedly, Iran announced a multi-million $ bounty for Baron Trump. Is this less or more correct? Should civilians and people everywhere pay for and suffer for a war, or the people doing the war? People have always said, ‘Send the politicians and leaders to fight their war,’ but have never been able to make that happen.

September 1, 2026, Israel
September 1, 2026, Russia–Ukraine War
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RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR

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Why the CIA chief might have made a secret Moscow visit | DW News (youtube.com)

This was headlines for a week, sorta second tier but still many reports, including things like 'What did Russian papers say about the visit?' No way to know, and the parties involved use statements as misdirection not information.

August 1, 2026
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Plane slams into Beijing's tallest building, sends debris raining down onto streets (youtube.com)

All videos and posts related to this have been removed from the Chinese internet.

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Growing number of women having children in their 40s (youtube.com)

Canadians and permanent residents leaving Canada at highest rate since 1950s, over 150,000 emigrated in last 5 quarters

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Google co-founder says GOOD-BYE in NYC real estate exit (youtube.com)

Lots of headlines and politically-excited people talking about these exits as a bad thing, but is it? Is it so bad if billionaires with 100 houses sell their unoccupied, central houses?

The only real downside I see is that people of means, who don't want to stay in a hotel for security/privacy reasons, and much less would be interested in an AirBNB, might just not be able to comfortably stay in NYC.

August 1, 2026, Iran and Lebanon War
August 1, 2026, Israel
July 1, 2026
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Alberta could see mass exodus over separation: analyst (youtube.com)

It will be interesting to see if anyone leaves, and what people migrate to Alberta also, if they separate.

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Ukraine accuses Russia of recruiting teenage girls to kill servicemen (youtube.com)

This is just comments from the Ukrainian head of national police, reported by Reuters, and not confirmed. Ukraine arrested a young woman accused of something like this, but no case has gone before a court.

Telegram recruitment and offers of money. The girls given methadone and locations. Provided with apartments or rent. The girls use dating apps and 'lure' the Ukrainian soldiers to the apartments.

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Ukraine launches largest attack on Moscow since war started (youtube.com)

These attacks are still always like one building using some drones. But a year ago it seemed almost unimaginable that Ukraine would strike a Russian city, but now it seems fairly regular.

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'Send them back' chants in EU Parliament after anti-migrant bill passes (youtube.com)

You asked them to come, through your earlier politics. Isn't the least you can do to be kind in reversing policy?

July 1, 2026, Iran and Lebanon War
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There are supposed to be ceasefires across the Middle East, but the fighting is worsening (apnews.com)

Before, maybe only some countries did fake ceasefires while continuing their own plans to continue attacking, but now maybe all governments do it?

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US, Iran reach agreement to end war; signing set for Friday (youtube.com)

Am I the only one who thinks this means nothing? When the players use lies like any other move, isn't the only thing that means anything what they actually do?

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Israel seized more land from neighbors since 2023 than it has in decades (apnews.com)

1000 km2, from Gaza, Lebanon, and Syria. The expansion started after the October 2023 Hamas attacks, justified as a 'buffer zone.'

July 1, 2026, Israel
July 1, 2026, Venezuela
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BREAKING: Tren de Aragua leader dead in U.S. airstrike (youtube.com)

US just bombed a residence in Venezuela, if the footage is real, and says it killed a Tren de Aragua leader. Trump announced that he ordered the bombing, with the cooperation of Venezuelan government.

If the guy really was in that rural tin shack, why not arrest him?

There's no rule of law in America if the president flouts that he doesn't care about it.

It's shocking that Americans don't charge him with what is obviously murder (conspiracy to murder, tasking killers, not sure the exact charge). But many Americans support Trump, and some strongly support him, so what can really be said? There can be no call for justice if the population don't even understand crime, and have no interest in justice. It's like the nation has become childish. But that also means that the onus to respect any law in America is gone, because it seems proven that there is no justice in America. There are courts and there are punishments, but no justice, because justice has to be applied to the powerful to mean anything besides organized subjugation.

June 1, 2026
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¿Qué impacto real ha tenido la pugna arancelaria entre Colombia y Ecuador? (youtube.com)

Aanceles del 100% a las importaciones colombianas, impuestos por el presidente ecuatoriano, Daniel Noboa.

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Here's Why The Liquor Industry Is Losing Billions In Revenue | Really? no Really? Podcast (youtube.com)

If you make all fun illegal and assign severe punishment for intoxicated actions, you might find people don't want to do it much.

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Ukraine steps up strikes on Russian capital ahead of Putin's Victory Day parade | DW News (youtube.com)

Did Russia call these 'terrorist' attacks?

Air space security questions. Kiev might have found some weak points in the Russian defense.

Russia is shutting down mobile internet to try to thwart the drones.

Putin's popularity is down to 60%, which is low for Putin (although obviously would be high for any European or North American leader).

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Reclusive Turkmenistan shows signs of opening up (youtube.com)

Under current government. Rare access to journalists to go in and report freely. Want to join WTO.

Fourth largest natural gas reservers, most goes to China.

Has a very strict Visa regime since 1991 (Soviet Union). It is concerned about Islamists and drugs from Afghanistan.

Very little interent, lots of SM blocked, to stop militant Islamist ideas. But in the fancy hotels there is uncensored internet.

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Anti-Christian aggressions on the rise in Jerusalem • FRANCE 24 English (youtube.com)

Imagine if Europeans made as much out of anti-Christian actions as Jews do?

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Mexico Railway expansion: Can trains transform Latin America? (youtube.com)

Workers spend up to 1000 hours per year sitting in traffic making this 60km commute between their city (or 1m people) and Mexico City. What is the math for the total?

The 45 minute rail trip on the elevated passenger train built by Chinese engineers.

Mexico's older railways had a peak building period of 1880 to 1910, when the Mexican Revolution stopped a lot of development. In the 1990s rails were privatized (consessions to Canadian and US railway companies) but this didn't attract as much investment as planned.

In 2018 President Obrador fast tracked/ de beurocratized rail infrastructure. There is a loop train around Yucatan that connects with Central Mexico. Sheinbaum says she will continue the rail development, using public funds. Her 3 year project will connect Mexico City with a city 3 hours north, and after that, the idea is to continue building north, to connect Mexico's factories with buyers in Canada.

A railway option (taking 8 hours from Atlantic to Pacific) is to be a competitor to Panama for global freight.

Mexico is mountainous, and the country can't easily just build a straight line flat rail, like is possible in the US or China. Engineering and economic challenges. Land rights also complicate. Rural community ownership. Security issies. 'Different kinds of institutional arrangements have to be reached.' If just one of the thousands of land owners doesn't agree, how can the plan move through?

Obredor declared rail projects issues of 'national security' to get past the rights of property owners. This is the reason building happened fast during his reign.

Flushing out the development, even if the rails are built, will require industrial parks, repair, storage, energy, infrastructure. Secondary infrastructure is required to suppor the railways.

Mexico doesn't have the engineers, etc, and rely on third parties.

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Palestinians: Would you compromise for real peace with Israel? (youtube.com)

Seems that if you voilently, forcefully invade someone's land and take it, it's going to be difficult at any point to sue the displaced and abused for peace.

'Like what compromises?' is the question. No one has suggested what compromises Israel could make and what Palestinians could respond to. If it is two states, that means Palestinians accepting the taking of their land, and forgiving and forgetting all the sacrifice by other Palestinians.

'Compromises never work.' 'There are two parties, a weak one and a strong one. The strong one is Israel, and it's protected by international law. The world is not getting a clear picture of what is going on in Palestine.'

'The nature of the occupation is that is that it doesn't commit to the agreements and treaties. We know what happened in Oslo.'

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Inside China's push for more marriages and children (youtube.com)

Youth aren't marrying.

Youth unemployment (rising), housing costs (rising), weddings still expensive, people living in the cities more, have pets and careers, choice not forced to marry.

China's government is offering marriage bonuses (cities offer cash or vouchers for furnture, paid work leave), offering marriage vows and drone shows on social media in nice looking locations. Basically everyone doubts this will have any effect, although even a small effect could be meaningful.

During the one child policy, Chinese citizens who had more children were publicly shamed as unpatriotic, punished, fines, sometimes jail. ... In the past, people married and had children partially to feel more secure.

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The Unmarriageable Men: Woes in China's Farming Villages - Asia Insight (youtube.com)

If you want food in your country, you might find a way to deal with this.

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What is behind the rise in anti-tourism protests? | BBC News (youtube.com)

Maybe if you're going to have massive tourism, you could give highschool/elementay school courses on how to behave in other countries. And you could make politicians accountable to their citizens for what they allow foreigners to do, such as drive up prices.

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Priyanka Chopra Jonas on body shaming, social media and pay parity - BBC World Service (youtube.com)

'I don't want to be judged for my body.'

While constantly wearing body-revealing clothing? 'I just want to be paid for it'?

June 1, 2026, Iran and Lebanon War
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New strikes on Iran were 'self-defence', say US | BBC News (youtube.com)

What might be most interesting is that any (quite a percentage of) Americans still believe any of that kind of statements, like that there's negotiations that are serious and they're making progress and they expect a peace soon. The Little Boy Who Cried Wolf would have to be rewritten for a modern audience. Citizens seem to have no limit to the amount of lies they will believe coming from their leaders, even if their leaders have lied to them countless times before and even if they know their leaders have no problem lying or even hold it to be a valid way of communicating.

Would like to see a study on what the actual limits are, if there actually even are any limits to it.

Napolean was known to be a liar, and was supported by the French and admired globally while he devastated 'his' country's finances, its empire, its civil rights, and killed so many French along with so many Europeans in what most understood to be heroism, ie patriotic war. A huge spectacle, much political bravery, and left France much weaker when he pushed till failure. Stalin was understood to be a liar, and Mao. Name a heroic war leader who wasn't?

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US bombs Iranian military sites, then downs missiles Tehran fired at troops in Kuwait (apnews.com)

You would never ha guess'd! It's not like last week all talk was about coming to a peaceful conclusion.

June 1, 2026, Israel
June 1, 2026, Venezuela
June 1, 2026, Cuba
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Cuba's government says country has run out of diesel and oil | BBC News (youtube.com)

This goes to show you, you still can bully a country into submission, if it's poor enough, and you're willing to harm its people.

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The world's most powerful armies can't win wars now, so what happens next? (youtube.com)

What would have been the minimum threshold Cuba, for example, would have had to meet, to be an unconquerable weak country?

May 1, 2026
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NASA's Artemis mission to go around the moon and take a look is underway. US is saying it wants a base there.

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The politics of oil have fundamentally changed (youtube.com)

US is the maritime guarantor of the Persian Gulf, but 90% of Iranian oil goes to Asia. 'Thompson suggests the U.S. move against Iran (and Venezuela) in 2025/2026 may be a direct retaliation for China using rare earth mineral embargos to disrupt U.S. trade plans.' Ai tldr. Is there in the a US-led pro-state (oil, gas, nuclear) versus a Chinese-led electro-state (solar, coa, rare earths)?

Will US Big Tech support whichever party is most pro-nuclear, because Ai scale requires it?

Do US energy companies want access to Russian shale?

Has UK been complacent (all parties just assuming the market would handle energy security), UK lacks refining and depends seriously on imports?

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Luxury Tower Puts St. Petersburg Identity in Focus | Florida This Week (youtube.com)

St Petersburg in USA.

Who decides what a city is or becomes? The population of the city? or the city council and some businesspeople?

May 1, 2026, Iran and Lebanon War
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Afirma Trump que Irán ha pedido alto el fuego #elvigia #estadosunidos #trump #mundo (youtube.com)

13 American soldiers dead, 3500 Iranians (1600 civilians, 200 children). 1200 dead in Lebanon from Israeli strikes.

$70b so far in US. (Ukaine War cost $113b in its first years).

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The AI War on Iran: Project Maven, a Secretive Palantir-Run System, Helps Pentagon Pick Bomb Targets (youtube.com)
US has precise strikes, but can't ID targets. They're trying AI to ID 3 classes, men women children, but they can't. Trained pros can do it, based on maybe 3 pixels, tell who's armed, but AI can't. Does this mean Iran doesn't have to fortufy, only disguise its people so AI can't target them?

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'A whole civilisation will die tonight': Trump's Iran threat shows anger & desperation, analyst says (youtube.com)
Does anyone care about his words at this point? 'We'll wait and see how Iran responds to this message.' If Iran doesn't respond how Trump wants, will he be seen as just throwing out idle threats again?

Iran says they don't want the ceasefire Trump wants. Iran wants only an end to the war, and there can't be a cessation of attacks while there is still a Threat to Iran from the US/Israel side. Iran also says they want acknoledgement of its right to enrich uranium, which Trump (and probably all US leaders) said he won't allow. All Iran has to bargain with is opening Hormuz, but even when they open it they'll charge $2m per vessel to pass through (to be shared between Iran and Oman), which they frame as compensation for the attacks on Iran instead of seeking cash war damages from the aggressors.

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Trump says US to 'suspend bombing and attack of Iran' for two weeks (youtube.com)

Iran has said that the US president's weakness is markets, any president, noted Samo. They don't want to cause a recession.

Slovenia doing energy rations, Australia towns have run out of disel.

Iran makes its own cars, only about 1m a year.

The ceasefire idea (in US and Western news) lasted about a day or less. Both sides claimed victory. Iran said US broke the terms of the truce in multiple ways, and closed Hormuz again.

Israel continues bombing and attacking Lebanon, with the biggest attack today, including residential areas reportedly.

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Netanyahu authorizes direct talks with Lebanon in potential boost to ceasefire efforts (apnews.com)

Is part of the Iran War just getting US to bomb Iran so Israel can bomb Lebanon without anyone being able to really criticize them?

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Israel seeks Lebanon talks after bombardments threaten US-Iran truce • FRANCE 24 English (youtube.com)

You need a central government in Iran to keep Hormuz open. You can't destabilize Iran and have the straight be securely open. Look at the Houthis. Tucker.

April 1, 2026
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Olympians call out Calgary’s WinSport for ripping up sliding track (youtube.com

CBC, paid for with tax money, video made unavailable in other countries.

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Hungarian forces seize $82 million in Ukraine bank vehicle raid (youtube.com)

Hungarian counterterrorism unit. Suspicion of money laundering

Commenter. 'The entire war is a laundering operation...give me half and I'll look the other way..'

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One tweet snapped a dozen government bureaucrats to attention (youtube.com)

Ezra Levant went through a Canadian airport security and the foreign migrant who searched his bag had a Palestinian sticker on his security badge, he tweeted. CATSA security. 'Why are foreigners in charge of [Canadians'] security?'

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New California-based app turning content creators into gig workers (youtube.com)

'Social agent.' $200 for a job, around $50 per hour plus tips.

'Let someone else do the shooting.'

She goes to a company, shoots video, goes to a cafe and edits the footage into content so the company can post it.

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South African expats return home, shunning US refuge (youtube.com)

I wonder if the ICE coverage had an effect on them. People who left SA because they didn't want to live where the government permitted organized and chaotic attacks on people?

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B.C. town on verge of dissolving (youtube.com)

Facing 42% tax increase in a year, town services not working well for them, they want to disband the town council of five representatives, which would put responsibilities in the hands of the province instead (then decisions would be made by one director working for the province, it seems).

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World Happiness Report shows nordic countries lead, Canada falls from top 20 (youtube.com)

Not that this type of survey means anything at all. Perhaps relative to itself.

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Finland President Warns of ‘World Disorder’ as Europe Faces Russia, US Pressure | AC1G (youtube.com)

Might not be so bad, except all those smaller countries, the people have no respect (or even use?) for their governments, so called 'representative'.

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They were under siege by a Mexican cartel. Now these civilians fight back with AK-47s and grenades (apnews.com)

This is about people in Guerero. It seems there is confusion and lack of unifying force and some changing of teams for local self-defense forces, cartels, and military.

'In some cases, groups became cartel paramilitary forces themselves, flush with money and terrorizing the communities they claimed to protect. In others, cartels armed local citizens to help fight off rival gangs.' AP. A commenter added that, according to some recent video, some police work a second job in cartels. Guerrero doesn't have just one powerful controlling cartel.

The different groups are using modern weapons and drones for recon/defense.

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What AI Means for Talent, Immigration, and Culture (youtube.com)

Samo.

'Assimilation is kind of fake.'

German migration to US, Scandinavian parts of US vote a lot like Scandinavia votes. After a few generations, the descendants of migrants sometimes diverge more than the first immigrants.

Politicians can just import whatever kind of immigtrants they want, pay billions to them (put them up at hotels etc).

Over 20 years a different type of politics becomes possible, like in NY where voting has changed so much in a few decades.

Systemic fraud enabled by a particular community, a special interest that lobbies, the politician depends on them. The politician will never be held accountable for any other political decision except what affects their constituency, and they're excused if they don't do good governance.

In Minnesota (Tim Waltz), 96% of Somalis vote for us, and their number one issue is government contracts and number two is immigration. 'Well, that's my current constituency.' Normal Minnesotans feel sort of sorry for Somalis, they feel OK about immigration.

'Can you have a democracy if governments can always import whatever voters they want?'

Every new arrival is happy to be there, because no matter how bad the third or first world becomes the first world is still better. Citizens here are loathe to send immigrants back because they think it's very dangerous for those people.

Moral hazard to bringing in lots of immigrants, regardless of anyone's moral conviction. They need to have an answer for how democracy is going to work. Citizenship is a right met with responsibilities.

A 'default Western idea of equality' doesn't seem to permit a Saudi-style import immigrants and don't give citizenship. Immigration will be great for Gulf monarchies, Singapore, and will reduce the coherence and competitiveness of Western countries.

A first step would be to be statistically honest (15 or 20 years ago I noted how Canadian government refused to publish real stats on immigration, so it became almost impossible for news to report on it or for Canadians you talk to to be anything except ignorant). In Denmark, in response to real, reliable information, Denmark reduced immigration, because they would be a net drain on the welfare state. Somehow they acted on this and the internal politics allowed them. Populists might not be able to reduce immigraiton, because small business lobby favors immigration. 20% of immigrants will be that, but then you have additional voters. In practice, no Western country can differentiate between economically productive and unproductive. Businesses profit, society as a whole is poorer. The political economy shifted toward redistribution, more corruption, less functional government.

Swiss model, local community and stakeholders vote on the naturalization of particular residents. Canada used to have a points-based admission (has a BA or whatever), but that was gamed when it was known (fake BAs). Most countries have some intake for talent. Many are recruited by the companies.

It may be impossible for a bureaucracy to let in 100% of the people who should be in, without letting in a huge number who maybe shouldn't.

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Trump says he will sign an emergency order to pay TSA agents (apnews.com)

The Jalisco Cartel has law-enforcement style trained dogs now.

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Toronto City Council approves motion to put police at every subway station (youtube.com)

Police state? Why is this necessary, when all serious crimes (violence, robbery) are steadily going down?

April 1, 2026, Iran War
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U.S., Israel and Iran trade new strikes as conflict escalates (youtube.com)
Infighting in the Iran military. Reportedly, Israel can fly jets overhead unimpeded.

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Latest on Iran as Trump releases new statement (youtube.com)
Trump's main point was that Iran has been run for almost 50 years (we've all seen the photos of a more casual, modern, smiling Iran from the 60s and 70s) by a regime hating America, that they're the 'number one state sponsor of terror', that they want a nuke, and that America is the most powerful country so it can do something. Trump rebuilt the military, he said, and it's more competent now.
Part of the reason we are so against American wars is the previous 60 years of them have been mixed purpose, and then later, perceived as nothing more than endless wars to stimulate the MID.
It doesn't mean America can't change and do a different kind of war. Iran, like Venezuela, isn't intended to be a war. It's not Bush stuff. It's a precision strike and then let Iranians make something else, basically.

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Details emerge from US-Israel strikes against Iran (youtube.com)
'Preventative defense.' 'Fundamental duty of commander in chief' to eliminate threats before they can materialize into larger conflicts. 'Empowering locals.'

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Israel sends troops into southern Lebanon (youtube.com)
Will there be a new occupation of Lebanon by Israel?

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War in Middle East: Israel invades Lebanon and launches new strikes on Iran (youtube.com)
Questions about Middle East's reputation for stability.
Trump criticized Starmer/UK for being 'very uncooperative with that stupid [Chagos] island that they have that they gave away' with him, saying he wasn't like Churchill. He said it was 'shocking'. Loss of Chagos caused US to have to land further away from Iranian targets and fly 'many extra hours.' Starmer said the Iran strike was 'unlawful'.
"I will not commit our military personnel to unlawful action."
"This Government does not believe in regime change from the skies."
However, Starmer allowed the US to use UK bases for 'specific and limited defensive purposes'. And sent a carrier over to Cyprus to protect it (against, they assume, Hezbollah's strikes on Cyprus). Britain has also said it's military has shot down Iranian drones over Jordan and one aimed at Qatar in Iraqi airspace, reported.
Outside 10 Downing, Jeremy Corbyn and Green Party leader Zack Polanski called it an "illegal war of aggression" and a "catastrophic mistake".

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Trump threatens to cut off trade with Spain after it disallowed US use of joint bases in Iran war (apnews.com)
Even though Spain is under the EU umbrella. Last year Spain said they wouldn't do 5% military spending like other EU nations, but could do 2.1%.

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This is the US preventative self defense argument, stated by Rubio. 'We knew that there was going to be an Israeli actoin. We knew that would precipitate an attack against American forces, and we knew that if we didn't preemptively go after them before they launched those attacks, we would suffer higher casualties...'
Trump was asked if Israel forced his hand, and he replied 'No, I might've forced their hand.' It was Trump's opinion that Iran was going to attack first, he said.

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Oil prices going up is good for Russia, some have noted.

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"Quiet death": Iranian warship destroyed in 1st torpedo sinking since WWII, Hegseth says (youtube.com)
'We're only four days into this, and the results have been incredible,' said Hegseth. How difficult do you expect it to be to get results by bombing unannounced?

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US Senate rejects war powers bill that would halt attacks against Iran (apnews.com)
Badly titled, but Republicans are in support for the Iran conflict.

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US hits Kharg Island amid reports thousands of US marines are being sent to the Gulf | BBC News (youtube.com)
How difficult is it for any nation that doesn't have the level of weaponry US and Israel have, to fight at all? especially in terms of missiles, drones, and launchers for them.
If the US/Israel can strike with precision accuracy, hitting weapons in Iranian cities, and not hitting civilians (which it has shown it can't quite do but can come close to doing), what is the justified response from Iran? Iran can't strike weapons installments in the beligerants' lands with precision, so is it justified in having more civilians casualty? Will onlookers and participants, understanding the imabalance of technology and economics, grant that? or will Iran and all other non US/Israel-type nations not be able to enter a sort of 'just war' at all?

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Michigan synagogue attack suspect had family killed in Israeli strike, Lebanese officials say (youtube.com)
What percentage of Iranians see the war as between the US or the US government with some US citizen support and Israel versus the government of Iran? What percentage just sees it as US versus Iran plainly?

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'I want this recorded for history': Marco Rubio's 2015 Iran warning resurfaces and looks spot on (youtube.com)
I was talking to someone today about Iran, and how easy it is for the machines of war, the MIC, to just do a few moves and we're right back at it. It's so easy to make two nations hate each other and support the bombing and attacks on the other. For decades all you've heard is how (name the country) wars are stupid and they manipulated us into it for no social reason, and never again) but the just a few so simple steps and we're right back there. 'I hate that nation and good if we attack them.' Most of the basis is fear combined with unfamiliarity, we don't know what they are saying to each other, what their opinions are. What is it like to be an Iranian in the streets? Do they view themselves of the receivers of Western wars since Croesus, but always able to defeat the West's armies in Persian territory, or do they view themselves as participants in a mutually beneficial relationship of institutional enemy status, where they can unify/subvert their population and sharpen their military against the Bulwark of the West?
Although you can't say the MID hasnt't done its part for peace, too. Afterall, they haven't had any place to sell guns to taxpayers to kill other taxpayers for 4 and a half long years since the Afghanistan war. Not counting the Ukraine war of course.

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'Restrict Iran Exports of Oil to China': Energy Policy Consultant Lays Out Next Steps for Strait (youtube.com)
Kharg Island handles 90% of Iran's crude exports. US bombed military targets but didn't bomb oil facilities. CBS LA.

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Trump administration threatens media outlets over Iran war coverage • FRANCE 24 English (youtube.com)
'A war needs to have a strategy. You can't come and say one thing today, another tomorrow.' Azar Nafisi
The people are the ones who paying for it, she added.

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Iran threatens tourism sites and US sends more Marines to Middle East as Trump hints at wind-down (apnews.com)
Maybe the smartest strategy I've seen in a while. Bloggers all live as expats or travellers, and a lot of news, too, it seems. I think most immediately resent/hate Trump for this threat.

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Prof. John Mearsheimer : Iran's Patient Strategy Undermines Trump (youtube.com)
How long can the American policy of supporting Israel no matter what continue when public opinion changes so much? Can public opinion overcome the lobby's wealth and how they use it to fund campaigns (or 2/3 of Congress). Or will they just have to pay more? Is it possible to force it to a head?
If Trump is surrounded by Yes-men, how is it he is being led or forced into a war? the opposite of the mandate of America first and no more foreign wars?
Did the White House underestimate the resilience of the Iranians, the strength of its government, and the assymetrical military response?
Meansheimer says he thinks Trump was told by the DeepState that Iran would shut Hormuz but it wouldn't be an issue because they'd get a quick victory. There is no serious military option for Hormuz? He names Kushner, Witkoff and Netanyahu and ignored the DeepState's opinion.
Russia. Gas and oil prices up, and more demand for Russian production to be sent out. Iranian oil is moving through Hormuz, to India and China, which US needs that to happen because it keeps prices from going too high. US needs a market with Russian oil, too, to keep prices lower. It's only the Gulf States can't move their through it. US weaponry goes to Iran war now instead of Ukraine.
Do Israelis purposefully destroy international law? ... For peace, Iran would want some kind of guarantee about Hormuz and other things. But in a world without international law, and there's no diplomacy either, how can guarantees be given? How can a diplomatic solution be reached?
Trump has used the word 'fun' about military actions in Iran, more than once in public statements, Mearshiemier noted. "Cavlier" war?

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Trump cites Pearl Harbor to defend Iran war decision: 'Who knows surprise better than Japan?' (apnews.com)
'President Donald Trump invoked Pearl Harbor while defending the U.S. strike on Iran and his decision not to alert allies in advance, saying during a meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi: "Who knows surprise better than Japan?"' AP

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Larry Johnson : Is the US About to Invade Iran by Land? (youtube.com)
Trump is talking like they're focusing on talks and peace, so maybe.

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Iran calls Trump's claim of peace talks "fake news" to manipulate markets | BBC News (youtube.com)
Jeffrey Sacks said that the Iran war (the new one, of course) is the end of US hegemony.

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Trump delays Strait of Hormuz deadline as Wall Street has biggest loss of war (apnews.com)
Reasons governments shouldn't be allowed to issue their own statements.

March 1, 2026
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The Ganglord Running Venezuela's Slums (youtube.com)

An urban based quasi guerilla political group, based in 23 January barrio in Caracas, started out more in political guerilla roots, moved toward vigilante group, reported.

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US strikes another alleged drug-trafficking boat in Eastern Pacific (apnews.com)

Colombia is producing it's own firearms at Indumil, giving it autonomy from Israel (Galin). Petro cut off buying arms from Israel as a reaction to Israel's actions in Gaza. Petro also halted buying guns from US after Trump's negative comments about Petro and Colombia. Indumil expects to do 80k units per year, but the expense of this raises doubts.

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How Thailand Went From Asian Leader to Laggard (youtube.com)

Not a lot of innovation. GDP 2% since 2021. Neighbors more like 5%. Capital flight (net flight since 2022 or 2023). Highest income inequality (a few hundred people hold most of the power, Bangkok thrived while other regions did agriculture), and when money and power sit with the same small group of people, they resist changes that could shake up their monopolies and redistribute wealth. Thai household debt is high.

Tourism accounts for 1/5 of economy. Also manufacturing, food. Connects supply chain between China and SE Asia. Thailand produces less engineers, data scientists, skilled workers than other SEA countries, and has lower English proficiency. Thailand produces tech products like chips, but is using old tech to do so, and doesn't have any new products. Workforce percentage is shrinking since 2019.

Low certainty in government because there are coups etc. Constitution changes frequently.

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Israeli drone strike kills 2 cyclists in Gaza as death toll mounts despite ceasefire (apnews.com)

'... adding that it also received the body of a woman who was killed by Israeli gunfire in central Maghazi refugee camp.'

'Gaza's Health Ministry on Tuesday reported 586 Palestinians had been killed since the start of the ceasefire, bringing the cumulative toll to 72,037 killed since the start of Israel's offensive. '

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Strikes on 3 more alleged drug boats kill 11 people, US military says (apnews.com)

I doubt these headlines are even getting views now. Normalized?

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Fico Slams Netherlands: "Smoke Marijuana, Recognise 70 Genders — But Don't Threaten Us!" | APT (youtube.com)

Is EU, Canada, UK, etc, afraid that if Eastern Europe doesn't do what EU is doing, they will have to be compared to these preserved homogenous countries?

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Utah leaders fume over Sundance decision to leave (youtube.com)

'It's become a second job for all of us.'

It is expensive to put on the festival, which brings in 10's of millions for the city's coffers.

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Trump Secures $17 Billion in Pledged Aid for Gaza Through Board of Peace (youtube.com)

Is joining an organization founded and led by Trump now anti reputation building? Like contrast if Obama had formed something like this right after his first election.

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Armed man shot and killed at Mar-a-Lago was never interested in politics or guns, cousin says (apnews.com)

Some 21 year old young man was shot at Trump's Mar-a-lago. He had driven 8 hours or so to get there, and his family (he lived with his mother in a trailer court) had reported him missing. His cousin said he was not at all violent or interested in guns ever. His homestate, NC, they do hunting a lot, but when he would go with people, he wouldn't even pick up a gun. He had recently started an online shop to sell pen drawings of gold courses, buildings and Roman architecture. He worked at a groundskeeper at a golf club. His family is all strong Trump supporters, but he wasn't interested in politics.

'Martin walked up to the secure perimeter at Mar-a-Lago early Sunday and went through a gate when it opened for employees to leave, a U.S. Secret Service spokesperson said Monday. Martin dropped a gas can and raised a shotgun at two Secret Service agents and a Palm Beach County sheriff's deputy who then opened fire "to neutralize the threat," said Sheriff Ric Bradshaw.' AP reported.

For a while, it seemed like some cities were removing garbage cans so that they wouldn't have to clean them.

'The totalitarian surveillance state is already here, it has been since 9/11 and the Patriot Act, and they are manufacturing a crisis to present their solution: Palantir, kill chains based on machine decision-making, predictive policing, hidden scoring systems. A total control society designed to remove human autonomy by putting a policeman in every person's mind (and cybernetic extensions such as smartphones), fear of reprisal for even psychological rebellion. Surveil, prosecute, and exterminate.' Daliwali

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Americans' sympathies in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict have shifted dramatically, new poll shows (apnews.com)

Reports have it that support for Israel amongst Americans went down in 2 years from like 50% to like 35%, regarding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Since 2018, attitudes increasingly changed and now support is about even for each side, in terms of number of people supporting.

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VENEZUELA

We haven't heard about Maduro in the news since the day of his capture and the initial appearance at court a couple days later. He simply hasn't appeared in the news.

Apparently he's at the Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC) Brooklyn. His next court date is March 17.

Venezuelans didn't migrate back. They're basically not expecting any change, since the VP became president, they released a dozen or a hundred political prisoners (302 reportedly, while 1000 remain), and US companies took greater control of Venezuelan oil production (now president Dacy Rodriguez signed a bill to allow foreig companies to take full operational control of oil projects), and after US took greater control of Venezuelan oil, the US government (Treasury) eased sanctions on Venezuela, and Venezuela will pay US 30 to 50m barrels of oil), and not much else, it seems. There is no US presense in Venezuela, and no security guarantees for Venezuelans. Not sure if maybe the current Venezuelan admin would be too afraid of US to persecute civil dissent now? The Venezuelan military is still loyal to the government there.

Venezuelans are fairly satisfied about the removal of Maduro, perhaps, and aren't really upset about the way it happened, and aren't sorry about the Venezuelan or Cuban soldiers killed in the attack. As for the Cubans, they may stand as evidence that Maduro wasn't even supported enough by his own people to trust an army made up of them, and the mercenary Cuban soldiers could possibly be seen as an anti Venezuelan (pro Venezuelan regime) force. They probably expect no real change. They probably would like there to have been more change in Venezuela.

Food is more secure in Venezuela, reportedly, because of the lifting of US sanctions. There is heavy police presense and the people don't dare speak openly or on social media, as before.

Is the word for Venezuelan government 'compliance'?

The Caracas Stock Exchange (ICB), which went up like 100% or 30% after the capture (not sure, have seen various figures, with some confusion because of the maybe 500% or 1000% inflation of their currency in a year), the country's $150b debt led to maybe 10% or so selling off in the later weeks of January.

Reportedly, Cúcuta has transformed from a migration hub to a militarized zone. Since Maduro's capture, thousands of ELN/FARC/etc guerillas have fled to Colombia.

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Argentina requests extradition of Maduro from the US on crimes against humanity charges (apnews.com)

'The case, filed in Buenos Aires in 2023 by human rights organizations representing the victims, relies on the principle of universal jurisdiction, a legal concept that allows for the prosecution in Argentina of anyone from any country who commits crimes like genocide or terrorism anywhere in the world.'

March 1, 2026, Feb 28 Strikes on Iran
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LIVE: US & Israel strike Iran | BBC News (youtube.com)

At this point, is the US parking naval boats near your country an attack?

Regime change would require boots on the ground. What extent of change can be achieved purely with air strikes?

Trump encouraged Iranians to seize the government, so that might be the only possibility.

Almost no internet in Iran.

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Carney backs U.S. action against Iranian nuclear program (youtube.com)

UK stated they were not involved.

France said they were not advised.

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"Maximum Pressure Kineticism." "Donroe Doctrine." "Decision advantage." "Law enforcement veneer ('arrest opreations', 'international policing'). "Lethal agility" instead of "nation-building", correlations with "Shock and Awe" (noted by CSIS). Colby School "strategy of denial", "limited but decisive force". ... Space force surveillance with cyber-disruption, disrupting radar, extreme focus on bunkers and command centers over civilian infrastructure. Quick results without "forever war" baggage (Venezuela attack cost $1.5b). Rejects messaging (messaging like Obama and Clinton did with non important targets), goes straight for weapons and people of consequence. Removal or displacement instead of deterrence and degradation. Higher risk tolerance (than Clinton and Obama). Legal framework of criminal indictments (within the US only) and self-defense justifications rather than UN resolutions or war powers. Friday nights.

Fire the government from above (Iran). Or come take the keys (Venezuela).

March 1, 2026, Olympics in Milan Cortina
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Winter Olympics 2026 guide: All you need to know about the Milan Cortina Games (apnews.com)

The most spread out Olympics (Milan, Cortina d’Ampezzo, Verona). 16 sports. The locations require half a days travel on busses and trains to commute. 'The 2026 Milan-Cortina-Bormio-Livigno-Tesero-Predazzo-Anterselva-Verona Winter Olympics’. The events are like 2 or 3 disciplines in each of 6 spots. Only the ice rink sports are in Milan. The snow and sled sports are spread out in the other 5 locations. (The 2030 games will also be held at a collection of locations in the French alps, and the 2028 Summer Games in LA will have softball and canoe slalom in Oklahoma.)

A few Russians, vetted by a board for not having published any statements in favor of Russia's war in Ukraine. Only one Russian lady's skater, Adeliia Petrosian (Аделия Тиграновна Петросян), three time Russian national champion, from Sambo70.

New event, ski mountaineering. Other, traditional sports have new team events.

Prices for hosting the Olypics started rising after Barcelona 1992, which improved the local economy broadly, based on the tourism and spending that happened around it. News of the economic effect caused bidding wars for subsequent Olympics, but that reduced the number of countries willing to bid. The events have increased in number, adding cost. This year, there will be 3500 at a winter games of 116 events (within 16 sports). Also, climate changes alter whether a location is suitable for a winter games, as temperature has risen steadily since the year 1900 in all former Winter Olympics spots.

The two celebrity sort of presenters/commentators/guests are Martha Stewart and Snoop Dog.

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«Метод Тутберидзе» 1 серия (фрагменты об Аделии Петросян) ENG SUB (youtube.com)

‘I came to Eteri Georgievna after probably one of my most disasterous competitions, Moscow Championship 2019, after which I realized something had to change. Either I retire or I try to move forward somewhere else. My mom suggested to try CSKA, or to go to Eteri Georgievna. Mom said, ’You know, if she doesn't take you, that's it.' Now when I rewatch myself, I'm surprised they took me, because my jumps were so inconsistent. Not only was I not doing quads, my triples were just terrible, especially combinations. My technique wasn't like everyone else's in this team. I don't know what Eteri Georgievna saw in me. But it's been 5 years now.'

‘Our leader is Adeliya Petrosian.’

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Will Snowboard Big Air eventually just not be wanted at the Olympics, because it's progressed to a natural outcome where you have to do a certain number of rotations to medal, so everyone just hucks a basic spin? It's a couple hours of guys just hucking a constant spin.

15 years ago the same happened in womens FS, where only the girl who did the quad would win, and is still that way, but still a lot of people compete who don't do quads (just they don't win, even if they are better skaters).

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At least on the Canadian CBC broadcast of the Olympics, basically every segment between sports coverage was about ‘and women ...' even if there was nothing particular to say about women in the segment, and most commenting (all?) was women, pairs of women commentators, and not because they were good at it. Exhausting feminism on Canadian media.

Over a week after the start of the Olympics. No one watches. They turn it on sometimes. Some people have a sport the like. But it's a dud. The reason is the broadcaster, NBC. It's super boring to watch. They mostly show the more boring events, there are no athlete stories, there are no former champions who are interviewed or comment. The commentators are all young women who know little about sport, listening to them you can picture them reading the athlete's Wikipedia page. They say just a few things over and over, ‘positive’ things and very generic. NBC's commentators are not at the games, but are rather in a tiny room with just a desk in it in the States.

From the Olympic Comittee's perspective it's surprising they allow this. People are not going to be excited to watch the Olympics next time, because this time the Olympics seem so boring.

Part of the problem is streaming. 20 years ago (or 10?), people had cable tv, so they had like 3 or 5 or whatever options for watching. Now cable only has CBC in Canada, or NBC in the states (I guess). If you pay for extra, you get TSN and SportsNet. It would be good to take a more exciting approach to covering the Games. Like split or multiple screens, lots of special commentators, athlete profiles, coverage of home town locations and training vignetes, scenes of the athletes in other dress, like if they're models or do some other skill or job.

Another problem is the events. There are 16 sports, fine. Half of these a person maybe wants to watch. But some of these (not the most exciting ones), they have tons of divisions. It might be better to limit the top tier events to like 2 or 3 per sport, unless there is real demand (like figure skating events there are like 5 events but people want to watch all 5).

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U.S. beats Canada 2-1 in overtime to win men's hockey gold (youtube.com)

US cleaned up this year. Alysa Liu also won gold in FS (without any competition from the Russians, as only Petrosian qualified and was there without much support). Liu didn't really comport herself very nicely though.

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Norway got a lot of gold medals.

February 1, 2026
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China, Russia and Iran warships arrive in Cape Town amid rising tensions (youtube.com)
There should be a means by which the populace can vote to approve or disapprove any war the executive engages, and if they disapprove no citizens go to the battlefield, and they just send the politicians over there.

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Meloni Rejects U.S. Greenland War Talk, Warns NATO Faces Serious Consequences | DRM News | AC1F (youtube.com)

Ukraine's front lines are covered in a canopy of drone nets. Roads anyway.

Optical fiber bunches at the front lines, for remote control of drones.

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Ukrainians endure freezing temperatures at home as crews rush to restore power (apnews.com)
‘The problem was “when the power comes back on, people turn on all the electrical equipment that is available in the house” as they dash to wash, cook or recharge their phones.’

‘“There are two types of heroes in Ukraine,” he said. “They are the military and energy workers.”’

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Ivory coast president appoints brother vice prime minister (reuters.com)

Who will rule Gaza, if not Hamas? CSM

Restoring municipal services. ‘Security, schools, water supply, and trash collection in towns and refugee camps across Gaza.’ Hamas police to secure UN food trucks.

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The French Foreign Legion Vs. Illegal Gold Mining Gangs (youtube.com)

‘Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, is in the process of building 62 miles of new bike lanes.' The Year in Cheer (reasonstobecheerful.world)

February 1, 2026, Greenland, NATO, Expansionism Questions
February 1, 2026, Venezuela, Maduro Capture by USA
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MADURO CAPTURED, January 3, 2026

After midnight sometime, Friday night, US bombed military sites in Caracas (and other cities, it seems). These were small, controlled explosions.

Among Venezuelans on SM, about 95% maybe were in favor. There were some dissenters, but actually most of those seemed to be Americans in America saying they didn't support this ('UN is sleeping').

In the morning, people woke to photos of Maduro wearing blacked out glasses and handcuffed (in front of body), wearing a capturee suit and holding a plastic bottle of water, aboard a US vessel with US soldiers guarding him.

Venezuelans seem to be basically 100% in favor of this. ‘Adelante Venezuela’. This is not surprising, as he has been the direct cause of suffering for many years, well beyond the amount of time you might say he still needed some time to make plans work out. For years, regular Venezuelans I know have hoped for this (or worse).

The attack and arrest was done swiftly. We still don't know the details. (Was the Caribbean attack a few years ago kind of a practice? I'm not sure why that comes to mind.)

But the attack and arrest were done at night, so there was the least disturbance, and little chance for forces to be mustered (and probably more people killed thereby). Americans didn't have time to respond. We don't know if Congress approved this.

The arrest was not done humiliatingly or dirtily. It was done soldierly. It was done publicly. They published appropriate photos right away, and the people everywhere can know what's going on. This is in marked contrast to the US government during Bin Laden, when no one trusted the government and the idea that they just moved Bin Laden to some island or something seems totally possible. Everything was secret, done in secret courts, carried out by secret forces.

I think the main feeling people might feel is jealousy. Trump's doing all the good things. Likely enough, no one even thought it was possible for America to do such a thing, just like it seemed impossible to get a peace deal in Israel.

The only caveat is the precedent. An America that thinks it can simply send it's military into any country and capture it's leader would be bound for misadventure. Trump may have a mind of his own and have no bosses to answer to, but it seems many US presidents aren't that way.

This will cheer the spirits of the miltiary corps. Enlistment will probably go up.

It is arguably a violation of the UN, but what is the UN for if it supports, basically, regimes like Maduro's?

All our law is not the highest law. Almost none of our illegal actions are absolute, such that in some cases they're not the appropriate or favored course.

So there are points on both sides of the ledger, but overall it doesn't seem too bad and will at least make life better for millions of people in Venezuela.

People also commented on how Xi would be taking note of how effective the US was at going into a country and grabbing a leader. But Shanghai is pretty different, and the Chinese are extremely proud of their country and support their government, as much as a citizens are known to do in our era. Some said Xi would be less likely to grab Taiwan but I feel like it's actually more likely. US is already on the way to not needing Taiwan for chips, Russia took it's land and peace talks are in the process of consolidating the annexation.

Nigerian leaders, however, probably aren't going to be sleeping so well.

US said they'd stay in Venezuela for a while to control things. US just had the Nobel prize given to Machado so it seems likely they'll install her.

Looks like Venezuela will have a year of quickly reinstalled facilities for oil and gas production and distribution, and maybe other projects. Will Venezuela stocks go crazy on Monday?

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What the US Strike on Venezuela Means for Oil (youtube.com)
Chevron.

Cuba Condemns US Military Strike on Venezuela as "State Terrorism" BRICS News

BRICS News also... 'Brazilian President Lula da Silva has condemned US bombings and the capture of Venezuelan President Maduro as crossing "an unacceptable line" in international relations. ... Calling it a "grave affront to sovereignty," Lula warned that attacking countries is the first step toward a world where "the law of the strongest" prevails over multilateralism. Brazil has activated emergency protocols and convened extraordinary meetings with military representatives as the 2,000+ km border becomes a strategic flashpoint. Mexico and BRICS allies are rallying in condemnation, with many calling this a violation of the UN Charter.'

Many commented that countries like Brazil and Colombia would take away from this that government's ‘must have nuclear to defend themselves.’

‘El fiscal general Tarek William Saab afirmó que el bombardeo de EE.UU. sobre Caracas dejó víctimas mortales y heridos, a quienes describió como “víctimas inocentes mortalmente heridas y otras asesinadas por este criminal ataque terrorista”. Sus declaraciones se produjeron en un contacto televisado tras la noche de explosiones y sobrevuelo de aeronaves militares en la capital venezolana. ’ Vision24

Lots of jokes about people buying the fit Maduro was pictured wearing with fashionable looking dark glasses. It's a grey tracksuit.

Presidente del Perú, José Jerí, sobre Venezuela: "Muchas familias podrán reencontrarse en su país, por eso daremos las facilidades para su regreso inmediato".

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President Trump says US action will bring Venezuela President Maduro 'to justice' (youtube.com)

It might be that the fishing boat attacks, real or not, were to trigger Venezuelan military channels, part of planning and identification for this attack.

They captured Maduro's wife also, Cilia Flores. They were airlifted out and then put on the USS Iwo Jima, and they're bound for NY, and then either NY or Miami (for trial). Looks like some of the soldiers walking Maduro out of his building were wearing DEA badges (US law enforcement).

No American soldiers died in the attack. No US military equipment was destroyed. ‘There’s no equipment like we have,' said Trump. Sales might go up?

There will likely be a large remigration of all the Venezuelans in Colombia, Peru, Equador, Brazil, etc.

In his speech on Jan 3 morning, he talked about the Americans who are victims of drugs that come ‘mostly from Venezuela' and mentioned Tren de Aragua and other brutal gangs. ‘They were brutal, but they’re not so brutal now.' Trump said they were ‘sent by Maduro to terrorize America.’

‘The Monroe Doctrine is a big deal, but we’ve superceded it by a lot, by a real lot. They now call it the ‘Donroe Doctrine.’

‘American dominance in the Western hemisphere will never be questioned again.’ Trump

‘We did something about it. We’re late, but we did something about it.' Trump.

Trump said Petro ‘have cocaine mills’, they're making cocaine and sending it into the US, so ‘he does have to watch his ass.’

‘Mr President, did you notify any members of Congress in advance?’ Immeditely, Trump said, ‘Marco, do you want to talk about that, because you were involved,’ and shifted away from the podium. Rubio said, ‘Sure. We called members of Congress, and this is not the kind of mission that you can do congressional notification on, it was a trigger based mission on which conditions had to be met, night after night we watched and monitored. ... Remember, at the end of the day, at its core, this was an arrest of two indicted fugitives of American Justice, and the Department of War supported the Department of Justice in that job...' Trump stepped back to the podium and said, ‘Can I just add one thing to that? Congress has a tendency to leak. This would not be good. ... But Congress will leak. And we don't want leakers.’

He said to Venezuelans, ‘You're gonna have peace. You're gonna have justice. You're gonna have a country. You're gonna have potentially a great country.'

‘I think Cuba is something we’re gonna end up talking about, because Cuba is a failing nation right now. And we want to help the people in Cuba, and also help the people who were forced Cuba and are living in this country.'

US MISSION
Apparently, they cut off power ‘due to an expertise [the US] have’.

Over the course of the night, aircraft (150 total) launched from over 20 bases around the western hemisphere, including fighters, bombers, recon, rotary wing. The extraction fleet included US law enforcement, and they flew 100ft above the water. Spacecom, cybercom and other members of the interagency created a pathway, with cover by the marines, air force, National Guard, and drones. As the extraction team neared Caracas, the joint air component began dismanteling and disabling the air defense in Venezuela. As the extraction team passed the last mountains, they realized they'd 'maintained totally the element of surprise.'

(Later, we were told the pilot of the main helecopter had been shot 3 times in the leg but was alright, which was compared with Abbotabad (Pakistan, bin Laden, 2011, Navy Seals, downed helicopter had to be destroyed to prevent losing intelligence advantage).

The birds landed (receiving fire and returning fire ‘with overwhelming force in self defense’) on Maduro's compound at 1:01 Eastern Standard (2AM Caracas local time), and the extraction force moved with speed to apprehend Maduro. The force remained protected by overhead tactical aviation. Maduro and wife gave up and were taken into custody by the Department of Justice assisted by the US military. Suppressive fire from the US forces shot at multiple Venezuelan engagements during extraction.

Maduro had been trying to make it into a safe place, all steel, but he wasn't able to make it, because the US guys were so fast, Trump said. But they would have had the steel opened nomatter how thick it was in about 47 seconds. ‘He made it to the door. He was unable to close it.’

So a successful mission, but an easy one. Looks good, but unlikely it really demonstrates anything about the US military (except perhaps their information gathering).

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How US Captured The Venezuelan President? (youtube.com)
A later explainer video. The US warships parked off the coast of Venezuela for a month were a sort of diversion. The 150 aircraft created a sonic shield for the helicopters, flying low over buildings to avoid radar coverage, to drop Delta forces. 2AM Venezuela time the attack of missiles, destabilizing Venezuela air support, happened along with a blackout of Caracas. Communications blackout. Some helicopters layed cover fire (they were being shot at) while one/some landed on the compound building. Delta breached the building (how?) from the roof and went though the building. Assumed that CIA had spies in the compound for some time, and Delta had built a version of the compound they ran through until they knew it well. They used a blowtorch to open the doors. The helicopters went to the US warship parked offshore. The several large US warships plus 150 planes formed a command center that countered Venezuela's modern air defense. Venezuela only has like 20 or 30 Russian jets from 2008 plus 5 F16s, upgraded with Israeli parts since the repair parts are part of US sanctions.

Venezuela protects its land with Russian S300 missile systems, Chinese radar networks, integrated Russian air defenses and Shahid drones. Older F16s find this challenging (BUKs). F35s were used. From Puerto Rico, F35s flying at supersonic speeds can reach Venezuela in 1.5 hours. Puerto Rico is close enough to reach anywhere in Venezuela, but there are air fuel supply planes to support them in the Caribbean. From the US warships, F35s are 10 or 15 minutes away from Venezuelan targets.

'AOC Slams Operation To Capture Maduro: 'It's About Oil And Regime Change' | "It's not about drugs. If it was, Trump wouldn't have pardoned one of the largest narco traffickers in the world last month," AOC claimed'
AOC Slams Operation To Capture Maduro:

Where will ‘run Venezuela’ money come from? 'Well back in 2004, anyone who didn't agree with the blank check for Iraq reconstruction was an America-hating terrorist and possibly even French.'

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OC: Trump says the U.S. will

'CIA: Wait, we don't need the whole charade stuff?!'

Trump said it'd be easy to keep helping Venezuela (occupying and running it) because a lot of money will come out of the ground.

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“Today Venezuela, Tomorrow Anyone”: Chile Sounds Alarm Over US Action | APT (youtube.com)

Slovak PM Robert Fico says today's superpowers do whatever they want and have erased international law. BRICS News

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Greenland says 'no more fantasies about annexation' after Trump remarks • FRANCE 24 English (youtube.com)

“I was captured,” Maduro said (in Spanish) before being cut off by the judge. Asked later for his plea to the charges, he stated: “I’m innocent. I am not guilty. I am a decent man, the president of my country.”

‘The stakes were made clear from the outset as Maduro, who took copious notes throughout the proceedings and wished a Happy New Year to reporters in court, repeatedly pressed his case that he had been unlawfully abducted.’ AP news

“I am here kidnapped,” Maduro said. “I was captured at my home in Caracas.”

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Maduro says 'I was captured' as he pleads not guilty to drug trafficking charges (apnews.com)

As a head of state, is Maduro immune from prosecution? Was his capture a ‘military abduction’?

US government doesn't recognize Maduro as the legitimate head of state of Venezuela.

Maduro was indicted on working with cartels to facilitate shipping thousands of tons of cocaine to the US. Also of ordering kidnapping, beatings and murders in relation to the alleged drug trade.

‘Secretary of State Marco Rubio had tried to strike a more cautious tone on Sunday morning talk shows, saying the U.S. would not govern the country day-to-day other than enforcing an existing ” oil quarantine.”’ AP

Oil rose slightly Monday. Venezuelan oil ‘doesn’t matter,' many concluded.

“If we normalize the kidnapping of a head of state, no country is safe. Today it’s Venezuela. Tomorrow it could be any nation that refuses to submit. This is not a regional problem. It is a direct threat to global political stability,” Maduro Guerra, Maduro's son, stated.

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Venezuelan immigrant speaks out following Maduro's capture; says hope has been restored (youtube.com)
‘I don’t care if you have a Masters Degree, or whatever, unless you've lived it in your own skin, and I think it's terribly disrespectful to the people...' The Americans who are against this, because it was because of oil, are not speaking from experience of Venezuela for 26 years of famine and oppression.

‘We are not free yet. We need America to stay in Venezuela until all of the other bad guys are out, but without America this wouldn’t be fathomable.'

In Venezuela, there's a ‘good amount of happiness and fear,’ panilazo, but the people who are moving into leadership are as bad as Maduro, and they are threatening people, so no one can show support for the Americans.

‘I think America is being smart about the way they are doing things, but to us, although it’s great, we are like 'Just don't hold back. Just send it all!' You've just stepped on the snake, and if you remove your foot from the head it's going to come back mad biting.

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Analyst Warns Maduro Trial Could Open ‘Pandora’s Box’ for World Leaders Facing US Courts | APT (youtube.com)

TUESDAY
Venezuela Regroups With New Leader, Old Repression Tactics (youtube.com)

Venezuelan stock market has surged 40% in a week and like 200% or 300% in a year (inflation adjusted), risk on, expectation Venezuelan banks might re enter the global system. Most of this is from before the Maduro capture. The market is very small. The market is rated as overbought.

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Venezuela Update: Geolocation of Helicopter Landing, Satellite Imagery, Destroyed Vehicles etc (youtube.com)
A bunker in the hills, not Maduro's palace as originally thought. One entrance is under a baseball diamond.

About 6 buildings completely detroyed by missiles (presumably), including a road checkpoint or entry gate.

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Trump says Venezuela will be 'turning over' up to 50 million barrels of oil to US (bbc.com)
Trump says Venezuela will be 'turning over' up to 50m barrels of oil to US

This, combined with the killing of innocent soldiers, could be seen as robbery/extortion.

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BREAKING NEWS: Rubio And Hegseth Give Update On U.S. Posture Towards Venezuela After Maduro Capture (youtube.com)
They, at least Hegseth, seem so proud of the military action and the seizure of tankers, not understanding that it is killing and theft?

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Prof. Jeffrey Sachs : Venezuela and the Collapse of International Law (youtube.com)
‘Cannot be justified' under international or US law or the American Constitution.

‘This is a war, US has launched a war, to run Venezuela.'

‘Even kings of the past had more control and scrutiny than the US president.’

US is still part of the UN Charter. No country can use force or the threat of force. Gross violation.

‘A breakdown in our Constitutional order,' long in coming. ‘There are no checks on the president. The US has bombed 7 countries in the past year’, not one of these authorized by Congress. In the past few days, Trump has threatened with force at least 6 countries. Iran, Nigeria, Mexico, Denmark and Greenland, Colombia, Cuba.

‘A rogue state that will use brute force to achieve to achieve its hegemony and acquire riches’ probably near universal view in world. A few countries applaud this, like Israel. And there are some vassal states (most of Europe) who don't dare go against it. States that have US bases in them.

‘They view the United States as lawless.’

Contempt for Congress and the Constitution. ‘Almost sneering.’

‘How much can the US steal from Venezuela?’

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Anya Parampil: Could the Venezuela Case Expose a CIA Narco-State? (youtube.com)
‘Their criminality is pretty naked for everyone to see. I don’t think anyone is taking this seriously, that this is actually about drugs or concerned with any legality.'

‘A collectivity of cowardice.’ ‘It changes all of the rules of international behavior.’

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Gilbert Doctorow Explodes: Trump’s Maduro “Kidnapping” Is an Impeachable Crime (youtube.com)

All of the mainstream news agencies 'don't dare' say that Trump has crossed every red line of the American rules based order, has violated all international law. All of them sing the same notes, they all say the same thing, that it is a very bad thing because it signals to China and Russia that they can do what they want in their spheres, militarily. Global hegemony is the issue.

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Ray McGovern : When “Foreign Policy” Crosses into Kidnapping (youtube.com)

US can't longer create agreements or contracts of any kind, because other parties don't trust it.

‘Let’s see if Trump is still completely captive to the CIA.'

Showed Trump's many past statements against regime change and nation building.

‘The media is the fly in the ointment.’ Puchin is more credible than the CIA, and certainly more credible than those that have won Pulitzer prizes for the New York Times.'

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DICTATOR OF AMERICA? PRESIDENCY OUT OF CONTROL (youtube.com)

Russia, Iran, China, Cuba, what extra weapons do they have to give to Venezuela?

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Los 5 momentos más importantes del ataque a Venezuela y la captura de Maduro | Noticias Telemundo (youtube.com)
‘All information points to many Venezuelans having participated in [the night capture of Maduro].

14 journalists and workers for news agencies were detained by Venezuelan police. 4 were later released. The others remain in a state of disappearedness.

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COLOMBIA | Gustavo PETRO “Trump me dijo que estaba pensando hacer cosas MALAS en Colombia” | EL PAÍS (youtube.com)
‘Una construccion mentirosa.’

In these periods, do leaders question their actions? and think they should have done more for their people, for all the groups of people, for all the people wanted, especially in terms of protections and rights, liberty, so that in such periods they would have the absolute support and protection of the people?

Comments. ‘Este pobre diablo le tiene miedo a Donal Trump, porque su nivel de brutalidad es abismal’

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President Claudia Sheinbaum: we have an agreement for joint work (youtube.com)

Seems like Americans might have to give up the idea they believe in or stand for anything like liberty, democracy, civil rights, law and order, checks and balances. They seem to have almost no qualms about executive actions here. I mean in general. The commenters show there is a lot of intelligent dissent and counter points, but the public seems unconcerned.

If that ever really was the project, maybe it isn't now.

A WEEK LATER
Full Breakdown of Maduro Raid - NEW Satellite Imagery Revealing Extent of Damage (youtube.com)

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Venezuelan Survivor Says US Used Sonic Weapon During Maduro Abduction | WION News (youtube.com)
Guards dropped to their knees, bled from the nose, vomited blood, reportedly.

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What Americans think about Trump's military intervention abroad, according to a new AP-NORC poll (apnews.com)
‘ 56% of U.S. adults think Trump has overstepped on military interventions abroad, while majorities disapprove of how the Republican president is handling foreign policy in general and Venezuela in particular.’ However, that's 86% Democrats and 18% Republicans. Independents 63% say he went too far.

Politics

September 1, 2026 - Cali streetdrug laws, Spain/EU, US and Mexico combine forces
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By this time, it seems Trump has taken the form and impression of a regular president, in large part. Not totally. 

It's always been said that once they get in office they become the same. It seemed impossible with Trump (and somewhat with Obama), because he was so different, his statements and policies so different, his situation and relationship with the press and SM. But one and a half years into Trump 2.0 he's almost blended into a regular president. Same wars and types of statements about the wars, same oppressions and capture of US citizens rights, same disregard for working and middle class, same relationships that benefit self and circle with money, tech, power. He does more transparency with the press, speaks always it seems fairly openly, but in the current era it doesn't seem to matter because the unethical or nondiplomatic things someone says now have no one to really counter them or take issue, and ignored they have the same weight as not said by previous leaders. The general public, most of all, has the same general stance and position towards him as all the previous ones, most displeased, don't like what he's doing with the country, disagree with almost everything he does, with all the events taking place in the country and internationally, many have reduced conditions because of them, are aware of the civil and constitutional rights losses, but sort of are just waiting it out for him to leave office. 

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Study Finds Americans Are Divided into 9 Political Groups. Which Are You In? | Amanpour and Company (youtube.com)

Leftwing Progressive

Loyal Liberals

Left-Out Left

Order and Opportunity Left

Tuned-out Middle

Unconventional Right

Pragmatic and Polite Right

Faith First Conservatives

No Apologies Right

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More than 100 people rally on SF streets, urging city to enforce drug laws: 'We are fed up' (youtube.com)

On Mandami's commie grocery stores, like 5 of them one in each burrough of NYC, one week per month 30% off, won't be selling intoxicants (any will or won'ts should be considered the ‘starting point’ description, or foot in the door). Will New Yorkers rush and have lineups on that week, will shelves stay open? Grocery stores make 2% or whatever margins, so how will they buy the things they put in the stores? The stores will cost taxpayers $70m or something. Will the other grocery stores go out of business? If that happens, will people have no choice but to only shop at the commie shops? and then they can raise the prices?

They will also be checking IDs (to make sure people aren't coming from New Jersey).

They will pay their workers above market wages, employees won't have to work hard there. Everyone is going to want to do business with them.

Friedburg predicted that in 24 months the whole country is going to be demanding they get this kind of store, too. ‘The basic arithmetic that somebody has to pay for this’ doesn't matter, he said, because the cheap stores will create ‘an incredible success story for socialism that will help to support the socialist wave in urban centers accross the country.’ ‘Utopia.’ ‘Create spectacle.’ ‘The multi-level marketing scheme of socialism.’ ‘No one is actually paying for the product.’ ‘At the end of the day, NO ONE has to pay the bill. Someone will pay it eventually.’

People already talking about how people will just buy the cheaper products and resell them, and that the government grocery stores require ID to buy food. 

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Meta ordered to pay almost $1bn over social media harm to children (youtube.com)

Why don´t politicians want to limit their cash cows? That type of decision can't come from politicans.

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Karoline Leavit quit the White House.

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Wife of US soldier is removed from deportation flight and released from federal immigration custody (apnews.com)

As long as soldiers are people (not robots), they have some leverage with the government.

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Headlines have it that the CEO (female) of Anthropic (which is about to have the biggest IPO in history at $2t, bigger than SpaceX's recent $1.7t. That earlier in her career she asked Epstein for funding for a luxury porn company. Commenters are not surprised, mostly saying thta it's one big group and just that the people commenting are not part of that group.

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The president of Colombia rejected foreign aid, including from US, for the earthquake, but asks for aid from the US for fighting cartels.

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Daron Acemoglu: We are "at the Cusp of Losing" Liberal Democracy (youtube.com)

Most people (non-cows) who I talk to know this, and we're watching it happen.

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Treasury Secretary Bessent Boosts Buybacks of Long-Dated Debt (youtube.com)

Inflation should be called ‘devaluation’ so the commons understand the word.

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Hecklers disrupt Trump at South Carolina rally (youtube.com)

It seems they chanted ‘USA’ as an opposition to Trump, but not enough context in the video to say for sure.

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Ontario premier responds to Trump’s ‘Lake America’ with giant ‘Lake Ontario’ sign (youtube.com)

Against normal (incompetent) politicians, Trumps basic politics are effective. Anyone with any strategy would, when attacked, attack the thing their adversary cares about, but incompetent people will set their hands to be busy on whatever unimportant distraction someone like Trump triggers them to focus on.

September 1, 2026, ICE - Shock gloves
On this page

ICE will release body camera video only when seen in the agency’s ‘best interests,’ policy says (apnews.com) (reddit.com)

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Shock gloves.

SM is showing some gloves ICE is wanting to start using, which deliver a taser-like shock. Concealed weapon, but since they are not technically law enforcement they're not subject to brandishing rules (ie you have to show a weapon before using it). At what point to all regular citizens just start seeing an entity as an enemy, like an armed enemy against them and without restraint by their government?

August 1, 2026
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Trump made $2B+ last year. How'd he do it? (youtube.com)

Mostly crypto and 'coins', which each earned him near 10x what Mar-a-Lago earned.

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OpenAI Proposes Giving the US Government a 5% Stake, FT Says (youtube.com)

When you talk about dystopianism, is there anything in the news more dystopian than this headline?

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When politicians are elected and have careers where they are known to lie and it is accepted of them, and then they continue and reach important offices, the expectation of truth anywhere in public information and news gets reduced to basically zero. There might be some truth in there but it could just as well be lies, basically. Only when politicians have built their careers on honesty do they actually lose something when they actually do lie. And in a context where most other politicians also have built their careers on honesty and integrity. When the entire political body is just filled with people known to lie and game, and it is accepted, what chance do you have of getting any truth anywhere?

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DeSantis names Antifa, CAIR and cartels as terrorist groups in Florida (youtube.com)

To politicians, the biggest criminals are those who threaten their hold on power, and you know their tendency is tyranny. But also, for a government-opposing group, an anti-fascist group, they define their enemy as soon as they go public, go active.

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Warren Buffett Drops Gates Foundation From Nearly $6B In Donations - First Time In 20 Years (youtube.com)

There might be something in this story, about how people have power over who succeeds, and people might want to pick and choose in who they let become a billionaire. Like if a good guy has billions and he's picking up chicks some might get a little envious but overall it's like well he's a good guy. But when someone like Gates can buy just about anyone, it's pretty disgusting and can make people kinda angry.

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Chat Control wins in Europe: you don't hate your government enough (youtube.com)

Almost all serious problems in the news are government versus citizens.

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Nicaragua's parliament moves to abolish elections under Ortega's order, fueling criticisms (apnews.com)

Ortega made the announcement in his annual Sandinista Revolution day speech, saying opponents were trying to steal power by means including elections.

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Antifa and the global threat from the far-left | The Global Story (youtube.com)

The Right has wanted this for years, and have been talking about it. It's major news special edition longform headlines now.

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Dr. Anthony Fauci Testifies on the COVID-19 Pandemic (youtube.com)

See him sitting there, looks totally aloof, almost like he knows he has blanket protection and they can't really do anything but make a show of the farce of the US government.

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New Brunswick politician appears to use AI in speech (youtube.com)

This was reported on days ago, but The Canadian Press even published on it.

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Jeffrey Gundlach on the Fed: Talk Is Cheap | CNBC (youtube.com)

Is 'the Fed' basically a Politics category item now, not Economics?

August 1, 2026, ICE
July 1, 2026
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REPORT: 'Mayor of Skid Row' calls out Karen Bass as Pratt surges | The Record (youtube.com)

Pratt and Karen Bass both have like 30% of the primary vote, and another woman has 23%.

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Trump booed at NBA Finals game in New York City • FRANCE 24 English (youtube.com)

First president to attend an NBA game during the Finals. Knicks versus Spurs. Wembanyama, a French player and star for the Spurs, helped the Spurs win game 3, and commenters have talked about what a dirty player he is.

Regular attendees to the game waited hours in long lines because of the increased security. Hundreds of Secret Service agents and thousands of NYPD.

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PM Carney is refusing to 'take the bait' from Trump, Tom Mulcair says (youtube.com)

Years into his schtick, some leaders start to adapt.

Everyone talking about California elections. 'There is no election,' said Friedburg this week. 'Your rights to have an election are gone. You are a citizen of those who tell you who your overseers are. You are no longer allowed to vote. They are now appointed representatives.'

People voting in person in LA: Pratt 35%, Bass 29%, Raman 26%.

Mail in ballots received before election day: Pratt 28%, Bass 38%, Raman 28%.

Post-election ballots received: Pratt 19%, Bass 35%, Raman 37%.

So the runoff election will be Bass and Raman.

California in recent years approved bills to allow unlimited ballot harvesting in the state (2018). This allows anyone to go and collect ballots from anyone else, regardless of relationship, fill out the ballots and send them in. California also passed a bill to make it permanent that every Californian gets mailed a ballot (not just people who want one). They mail out 24m ballots (while only 9m vote). California also passed a bill that said anyone can register to vote and doesn't need to prove citizenship. You can use a gym membership card or something.

So there's nothing illegal or fraudulent happening in California. The California voting system is operating as designed.

Congress is to blame, said Friedburg.

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You can see why people are tending towards militancy and extremism. People 'going rogue' and taking individual violent action. If the people in power don't respect the rules or the citizens, what demand can you really put on individuals? If the entire system is so corrupt that no legal means can modify it, and in fact only strengthens it, what demand can there be for respecting the rules? The civilization becomes the jungle. The original source of this all is the allowing of the interests of the powerful/government to become distinct from the interests of the citizens. The system must include a way to wed and constrain the interests of governors to the interests of the citizenry.

Yet, the federal government(s) keep pushing and pushing. Their response isn't to listen to or serve the citizens, but to clamp down on them, censor them, criminalize them.

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Carl Higbie: 'Rabid leftists' want to take out Trump because 'they aren't capable of winning' (youtube.com)

The position of the Right.

Is creation of Leftist extremists just a way to pass more laws against citizens' rights? just like the Left likes to do?

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World Cup official says twitch caused gesture resembling supremacist sign; FIFA says no breach (apnews.com)

All organizations, and all people, are becoming subject to these independent entities, which set themselves up under the banner of protecting people from various meannesses or cruelties, ostensibly and sometimes sincerely.

But the entities purpose and interaction is anti-civil rights. Not neutral. This one is anti-free speech. Its purpose is to censor speech. A little, new entity with who knows what random people running it, now holds 122-year-old cultural and sport organization FIFA sort of hostage (if FIFA bows to it). FIFA is forced to deal with this organization and sort of submit itself to it. It has to create and maintain good relationships with it. Which means FIFA has to enter the world of selecting 'victims' and working against civil rights. FIFA has to (if they bow).

The thing is normal people think in terms of good and bad. 'I did what was good, therefore it was right,' but doing good can be the way to destroy a society. They attack, using usually almost any means and considering it valid, those who they, their ideas, and the people around them, or the presentation of the public perception by the media or the politicians and interests behind the media, they attack those people they don't like or think are 'bad'. They are actively therefore destroying the system that protects everyone through civil rights guarantees that limit their 'good' acts. Then they say 'I was only doing what was good.'

'In 2019, the gesture - with thumb and forefinger touched in a circle and other fingers outstretched - was designated a hate symbol by the New York-based Anti-Defamation League'

But according to the racism group, "Clearly this official should have no further role to play in this World Cup." The group described the gesture as "neo-nazi."

Everyone must live in perpetual state of fear for any innocent gesture they say or sign being interpreted as offensive to a PC group and punished.

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Ahead of Colombia's elections, 'Latin America overall is going to the right' • FRANCE 24 English (youtube.com)

It's actually divided. Colombia has always been right-wing, electing its first leftist president a few years ago, and his term is up. The country is as divided as ever between left and right.

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World's First Trillionaire, Anthropic Fable Banned, The New Oligarchs, Iran Peace Deal (youtube.com)

Friedburg continues to become more serious about the 'politburo', the governmental class in the States making it less free, an unfree society. Warren, Sanders, etc.

'If you take the knee, we will give you the education for free, the childcare for free, the food for free, the paycheck every week. We will give you.' A fake democratic system like this.

He talked about how getting stuff from the government takes away everyone's agency. And 'learned helplessness.'

'People will be a shell and a shadow of what they could be.' Chamath said, who grew up on welfare.

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NYC rent freeze vote: Breakdown, tenant and landlord reaction (youtube.com)

Pick the bigger group and offer to take something from the smaller group to give them if they vote for you?

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Socialists Sweep NYC, China Catches Up in Coding, AI Memory Crunch, Micron's Blowout Quarter (youtube.com)

NY socialist sweep. All Mandami's picks won, including a 32-year-old Democrat socialist woman who's never had a job, been in college 10 years, she has declared she wants to be among 'Westerners fighting for the total eradication of Western civilization.'

Is this 'the left's version of the populist takeover that Trump did over the past 10 years'? Is USA going to be socialism/communism versus populism/nationalism?

The traditional Democrat party now will have to manage all these communist radicals who've been elected who are 'using the Democratic Party as a ballot-access vehicle, not because we share its goals.'

Sacks said to Democrats, 'Play stupid games, win stupid prizes. You supported this open border policy'... that is a huge part of the base of this new NY thing. Mandami would not have won without this wave of migrants. DNC base is the migrants plus the 'overeducated' whites, Sacks said, working in academia and NGOs. Recent college grads. Marxist leaders.

'Cracked the melting pot,' the idea in US of assimilating migrants. They're not just anti-American, they consider themselves post-American, they have no respect for the American system, Constitutional order, free enterprise system. They want something much different, which looks a lot like the countries these migrants come from.

The NY democrats want a total, radical overhaul of the entire US system.

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Tucker Carlson quits GOP: 'I don't know what I'm going to do' (youtube.com)

Tucker Carlson being painted as an anti-semite by Republican politicians like Ted Cruz. Carlson is now at odds with the Republicans and Democrats.

Republicans aren't all pro-Israel anymore, and are positioning for after this White House.

July 1, 2026, ICE
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Anti-ICE agitators don't even know what they're rioting for: Greg Bovino | Carl Higbie FRONTLINE (youtube.com)

You sure about that?

Most anti-ICE sentiment I've heard for months has been because people want a country where rule of law is respected, and there aren't anonymous masked, untrained or barely-trained gangs of quasi-police carrying out things that the citizens don't even know what their real mandate is, sometimes arresting (abusing) and harming (sometimes killing) innocents.

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Bloomberg News Now: ICE Set to Enter NYC (youtube.com)

Against the public statements of NY's governor and NYC's mayor.

June 1, 2026
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Is the trick to win LA/California just to say you're Democrat, say some Democrat-value statements, but actually have a lot of Republican style policies?

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India's PM Modi calls on Indians to make drastic sacrifices | DW News (youtube.com)

'asks Indians not to buy gold for a year.'

So everyone else can, then after the year is up, Indian buyers will increase the price of the gold everyone else bought?

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Independent Israeli report accuses Hamas of 'systematic' sexual violence during October 7 attacks (youtube.com)

Why do I have my doubts? Not that this is likely technically probable, but that it is a headline.

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Trump arrives in China for high-stakes summit with Xi Jinping (youtube.com)

This is all over headlines, but there doesn't seem to be any story there, even though it is consequential what deals the two make.

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Trump's America Is Becoming A Tourist Nightmare (youtube.com)

Tourists weren't loving America before Trump either, but it is noticeable that no one, even normies, wants to touch America after ICE etc.

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Spencer Pratt's ad strategy shakes up L.A. mayoral race | The Right Squad (youtube.com)

This will probably be a topic in university courses on politicals ads and on US politics.

A lot of problems have built up in the city/state. No politicians have, but it's just been weaiting to be used in ads that show the issues in a resonant way. His ads have gone viral.

I've seen another of his ads which was pretty effective-seeming. The impression he makes on viewers is just as a common-sense person who's issues are serious issues.

He's receiving threats, calling him 'fascist.'

LA mayoral election in non-partisan, ie there is no affiliation next to candidates' names on the ballot. (Pratt has registered Republican before though.)

The ad in question shows Pratt 'living' in an Airstream trailer on his property. Opponents can critisize this ad, saying 'He doens't live there. He actually lives in a nice hotel, The Beverly Hills, but this creates a news story that causes Pratt to be interviewed and asked just that, to which his response gets to be (excatly his main mandate issue) that no, he doesn't live in the hotel, and he doesn't live in the airstream, he doens't live anywhere because of how non-functional the cities policies are that he can't even build a new home.

Pratt has a degree in political science, Karen Bass commented, but 'he does not have a background or knowledge in how our govenrment works.' Is that an advantage? If enough non-politicians are elected, does it become an advantage?

A politician, in a situtation where for decades all politicians have basically formed a class separate from the common citizens, have avoided even talking about real issues (in any way that isn't just a sort of veneer for their popularity purpose), could just do what journalists traditionally do, go and show the actual things that are issues and talk about how they will work on these.

Celebs might be the perfect type of candidate, because they have a following and recognition and their resume has been quite public, they often have experience being poor and being rich, and they've had a lot of free time and know other influential people (and generally a person is a decent representation of the people in his circle). Celeb candidates can be tested for fitness (basically things like intelligence, common sense, values) during the campaign process.

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Carl Benjamin Declares 'Labour's Last Government' at Tommy Robinson Rally (youtube.com)

'We are going to fix the country.' We are going to see how long that promise lasts.

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US raises pressure on Cuba with indictment of former leader as island's president condemns charges (apnews.com)

30 year old event.

The hypocrisy was noted by commenters.

Rhodi wrote 'From a strict standpoint of international law, the federal murder indictment against Raúl Castro for the 1996 civilian shootdowns exposes a sharp double standard, as the Trump administration is currently bypassing the exact same legal frameworks in its lethal maritime campaign. The Department of Justice is charging Castro with murder and destruction of aircraft because Cuba used military jets to summarily destroy unarmed civilian targets outside of a warzone, completely violating the Chicago Convention and the international mandate for standard law enforcement interdiction. Yet, by deploying military assets to launch lethal strikes against unproven, suspected drug vessels in international waters—resulting in nearly 200 civilian deaths without trial or evidence—the administration is executing the same extrajudicial use of force against non-combatants. Ultimately, both actions fundamentally violate the core international prohibition against using military weapons to summarily execute civilians on the high seas or in international airspace, rendering the U.S. actions legally indistinguishable from the exact crime it is prosecuting Castro for ordering.'

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US indicts former Cuban President Raúl Castro over 1996 downing of planes (apnews.com)

'President Clinton condemned the shootdown of "two American civilian airplanes" and said he ordered the U.S. military to protect search-and-rescue operations.' The president was aware and the justice department didn't act, so doesn't that mean the US either didn't have authority or interest in trying anything legal?

'The group's planes flew over Cuba in January and in July 1995, dropping anti-government and human rights pamphlets. The Cuban government warned that it would not tolerate such flights.' I wonder if the government called these acts 'terroritst'?

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A new normal? UK looks set to have 7th Prime Minister in 10 years | DW News (youtube.com)

Why do you think it is that the country can't get a leader who's worth supporting?

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Hawaii just found a way around Citizens United. Other states are following. (youtube.com)

'Hawaii just made history, becoming the first state in the nation to effectively ban dark money in elections. The new law takes a novel approach: rather than trying to restrict corporate speech, it redefines the powers corporations have in the first place — and political spending is not among them. The strategy, known as the "Corporate Power Reset," was developed by Tom Moore of the Center for American Progress. And at least a dozen states are now working toward passing similar laws.'

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Campaign to keep Alberta in Canada launches in Edmonton (youtube.com)

Does the campaign include amending politics so Alberta doesn't have to be forced to bend to the will of the Federal government all the time?

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Deadly US Strike Hits Drug-Smuggling Vessel (youtube.com)

White House still authorizing just shooting boats in the Caribbean and now, it seems, the 'Eastern Pacific', killing whoever happens to be on them. If this information is true (still haven't seen any videos about the families of any of these murdered individuals).

'U.S. Southern Command said Joint Task Force Southern Spear carried out a lethal strike on a vessel linked to designated terrorist organizations in the Eastern Pacific on May 26. Officials said intelligence showed the boat was operating along known drug-trafficking routes and engaged in narcotics smuggling activities. One suspected narco-terrorist was killed and two survivors were rescued after the U.S. Coast Guard was notified to begin search and rescue operations. No U.S. military personnel were injured in the operation.´

I don´t know if the commenters are just bots arranged by the US military (if so they would be a lot more severe in this practice than other things because usually there seems to be alot of real commenters on videos), but there don´t seem to be any worrying about civil rights, US justice system, or murder.

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Rising xenophobic attacks push Ghanaians out of South Africa | DW News (youtube.com)

If SA was still White, what would this be called?

As it is, it's a 'constant xenophobic attack.'

'None of them, not even a single one of them, is thought to be a criminal.' Although some are, some aren't, there legally in terms of state permission.

There is an NGO that fights xenophobia in SA. So, good to know that when the NGOs that fight racism no longer are considered viable, they can just shift.

June 1, 2026, ICE
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Federal judge bans most ICE arrests in New York immigration courts (youtube.com)

ICE might have to stop poaching migrants and exiles at courts.

May 1, 2026
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Special Report: Trump fires Attorney General Pam Bondi (youtube.com)

Trump said he had become 'frustrated' with Bondi's performance, reported.

Bondi dates back to Trump 1.0 and Florida. Speculation by the channel is that Trump wanted retribution against enemies by prosecuting them, and Bondi has tried a few things. She had said she had Epstein documents on her desk, but then later 'there was nothing to see.'

I wonder what percentage of Americans and others watching news, even if they try not to, cheer inside themselves at every negative news for Trump? What percentage of his base is still strong? Duing his election, we saw people not admit wanting him to win because of their friends and social condemnation, but they wanted him to win and voted for him, so we had surprising numbers. The reverse could be happening with his base. They could just be saying they still support him publicly.

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US Trade Rep Downplays Oil Price Concerns, Cites North America Energy Strength | APT (youtube.com)

Both high energy prices and inflation good for US Federal government (as seller of energy and as consumer of savings)?

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Secret police: Inside China's spying operations in Canada | the fifth estate presents (youtube.com)

How could you even think you could start to police this? There are 1.3m non-Canadian born Chinese in Canada (72% of the 1.7m Chinese people in Canada). Some areas are majority Chinese. At what point do you just accept that Canada and China both have government powers and intelligence in Canada?

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"Democracy Kills," Says Burkina Faso Junta Leader Ibrahim Traore | APT (youtube.com)

He pointed out the huge number of NGOs currently in Burkina Faso.

'We fight against terrorism to secure our populations.'

'We fight for schools. No one has given us a single cartridge to fight againts terrorism that kills our children.'

'Often, people from the West seen Africans as subordinates. And so they come here to teach. 'I told you that we have the right to life. We teach that to the rest of the world.' '

'They don't even have the intelligence to know that what they say is not good.'

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'Unhinged, insane': US lawmakers call for Trump's removal via 25th Amendment • FRANCE 24 (youtube.com)

The broad use of generalizations as charges. The accuser can point to nothing, has nothing to debate, can only throw out rhetoric and 'it seems' looking for enough consensus to proceed. Without understanding of what makes crime, and with the pretty obvious increasing prevalence of simply using lawfare and threats of it to get $$, will likely keep increasing. If no one really places any importance on it during the process, what does truth really matter?

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Australia's most-decorated soldier charged with war crimes in Afghanistan (youtube.com)

For the death of Afghan nationals under Commonwealth Criminal Code's war crimes defintion. Executions or ordering other soldiers to kill detainees and an elderly man, kicked a man off a cliff, ordered him shot. Blooding ritual. Detained, unarmed Afghanis under the control of the Aus forces at the time.

Newspapers covered the story in Aus, and the war hero sued the papers for defamation but lost in 2023.

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Exclusive: Cuban president reacts to Trump admin's call for him to step down (youtube.com)

In another type of political system, maybe people legislate aid and connections, while legislating protections for the island from gentrification and touristization.

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Democrats grow bolder on talk about removing Trump from office after his Iran threats (apnews.com)

Threatening to annihilate an entire civilization, when you have the power to do it, and are currently invading that country, might do that...

Pepsi and some other big brand pulled their sponsorships of that UK festival becaues they headlined Kanye, reports. Will this emerge as a new type of economic censorship, akin to governments freezing bank accounts? It's only one group that seems to do it.

I thought we weren't supposed to sensor artists? Kanye's said unpleasant things about a lot of types of people, white men, white women, black women, black men, hasn't he? So why is it there's this reaction only when one group is involved? It makes you wonder about medieval days, and how nowadays people are sort of taught in history that the Europeans were racist against the Jews and persecuted them occasionally to seize their wealth, but it might be more on the other side of economic and political actions, too.

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Hungary election: Record high turnout with Orbán on verge of defeat (youtube.com)

Is a big part of politics in major countries just making sure no competent person gets a running ticket? Democracy's fine, have 1000 candidates if you want, so long as their all supersimp politicial politicians who no one likes and have no valuable ideas or strong personality? We see a lot of negative vote results, like people voted for a winner just because they saw him as the least worst option among bad options. There are millions of people, lots are doing somewhat impressive things, lots have some education, so why has it been decades since we've seen a candidate that really stands out?

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The R-Word Is Back. Here's Why. | 'The Opinions' Podcast (youtube.com)

These days, what is worst to be called, 'nigger' or 'racist'? So if you call someone racist, and they're not, are you doing a worse thing? I've wondered for years about why the most politically detrimental words, which are somehow not classified the same way, are not sued over.

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Tucker Carlson splits with Trump over Iran | Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg (youtube.com)

Tucker, like Kanye, attempt to cancel him becaues he speaks openly including criticism of Israel, and makes strong points.

Carlson says Trump is not making the decisions. Carlson has known Trump a long time and was with him in the runup to the election, so he knows, he said, that Trump isn't making the decisions.

Tucker does a pretty good job of combatting the BBC broadcasters attempt to 'slur' him, characterize him as an 'antisemite' which it's hard to imagine he could ever be, and has made clear statements on every occasion that counter such a claim.

It would be better though if Carlson made more original, fact based, specific points. He talks in terms of history and patterns and a judgement about the effects of political decisions, but he's something of a journalist, and has access to contacts he could do journalism with, so why doesn't he have more specific stories to relate?

After the BBC presenter read a bunch of insults Trump had made about Carlson, among Carlson's calm response was that, 'I feel sorry for him as I do for all slaves.'

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Hungarian election-winner Magyar declares landslide victory • FRANCE 24 English (youtube.com)

A 2/3 majority. Orban said the results were clear, but the possibility of governing was not given to his party during his trem. Seems to be some strong anti-Russian sentiment. Guess warring isn't that popular with the citizens. It was a Russia/Europe election. Orban was in office 16 years. He's stood out in world news headlines for being firmly resistent to the European globalization/immigration policy, and against liberal ideas like trans etc.

The conservative beat the ultra conservative. Still will be rightwing about immigration.

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Swalwell suspends campaign for California governor after being accused of sexual assault (apnews.com)

Amother one. Commenters noted the timing, saying 'other parties involved' possible.

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YouTube (youtube.com)

Is it just routine now in the city? Inflation caused by governments (not talking for the moment about supply side inflation), followed by workers whose wages don't match, they protest a few times, the people and the government see it in the news and both accept it, the government meets and sets a period in which they will drag the process out, after which the wages are raised?

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'Today the relationship between France and the African continent changes,' historian says (youtube.com)

'Return of looted colonial-era artifacts "a moral obligation"'. Um?

Maybe states should have to meet a certain standard of doing things for others for moral reasons before they claim others should?

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Zohran Mamdani's wife Rama Duwaji apologizes for the 'harmful' social media posts she made as a teen (apnews.com)

Ro Khanna beat the S&P by 112%. Pelosi by 39%. MTG, Michael McCaul, Cleo Fields also by 10 or 20%. Pelosi has done it for years though.

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Network of YouTube accounts pushing Alberta separation | Deception Decoded (youtube.com)

CTV

Julan Casablancas, during a regular music interview, was quoted, "American Zionists get the benefits of white privileged people but talk like they are Black people during slavery.

Casablancas then said, "I mean, just for the people that are gonna be like, 'Hamas, October 7th', yes, bad, but you know, Native American rebellions didn't mean it was ok to do what we did. Slave rebellions that were violent didn't mean that slavery is not bad." And "You know, indoctrination is such a strong thing, we just want to be part of the tribe…But it is a sad fact, the brainwashing of people in general. You can't be mad because something was rammed down their throat, necessarily."

Massive amounts of social media posts criticizing him. Tons of criticizing comments, but lots of supportive/agreement comments also, but often lower down in the comments for some reason. The best comment out of those few I read was saying that tons of people were upset but none offered any counterpoint or argument to what Casablancas said.

Notably, a lot of the comments called him a 'creep' and 'creepy', like he had 'creepy views' on Zionism, which is the first time I read that word used in that kind of sentense. Seems to be bots/propaganda. Definitely a manipulative word to use in this situation. I've noted the word for years, but haven't seen it pop in manipulation campaigns, but maybe the manipulators discovered the word recently. It's a word like terroristic or, often, racist. It's power comes from its lack of specific definition and negative claim.

A lot pointed out, as a defense of being defensive [sic], that it was ok/right to be wary for reasons of safety because anti-jewish sentiment has gone up like 10x in the past year or something. Obviously, that's following attacks on Palestinians, in Lebanon, and in Iran. US is similarly getting negative feedback for its attacks in the Middle East and is facing significant political opposition/criticism and international popular criticism.

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Trump Responds to $400K Maduro Bet on Polymarket Involving US Special Forces Soldier (youtube.com)

Everythings betting now, and Trump said he wasn't in favor of it conceptually. He asked if the soldier had bet on his own team or against it. Pete Rose.

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Can The UK Rejoin The EU? Keir Starmer Looks To Undo Brexit (youtube.com)

Is EU less forced immigration, less woke, etc now? so the reasons to not be part of it aren't as strong?

I haven't heard Ukraine War in the headlines for like a month or so.

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Spencer Pratt makes case to be next LA Mayor (youtube.com)

Actors make decent candidates. It sounds like his PR/writing team told him his lines and his motivation on them, and he seems to deliver them all like a movie. The sentiment might be true, but the lines sound written and memorized.

Commenter. 'Haha, Spencer is absolutely CRUSHING these 'gotcha' questions with perfect comebacks. Totally left her stammering and glitching out!'

How much does experience as a 'bad guy character' or a 'Simon Powell' type help in how you aren't shaken or distracted by aggressive questions. She didn't do aggressive questions, but he seemed to handle quesitons quite well.

Commenter. 'Spencer has never had a problem calling someone out and holding them accountable!'

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After Melania joke: Trump wants Jimmy Kimmel fired (youtube.com)

Bad taste as usual.

However, Melania tweeted that Kimmel used 'hateful and violent rhetoric' which would cause his words to be illegal in many countries (which lack a real Bill of Rights), and which it isn't. She said people like Kimmel 'shouldn't have the opportunity to enter our homes each evening to spread hate ...' which is also an as-usual, because the Trumps don't seem to understand civil rights or that they're guaranteed in the USA.

I'd maybe fire Kimmel for how poor taste and offensive these jokes are, but that's apart from the false characterization of his comments as 'violent' or 'hateful'.

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FBI Dir. Kash Patel on James Comey indictments for alleged threats to President Trump's life (youtube.com)

Comments are mostly 'ridiculous', 'stupidest', 'clowns', 'idiots', 'freaking joke'.

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UAE leaves OPEC in blow to oil cartel • FRANCE 24 English (youtube.com)

It has wanted to increase output for a while now. 'Restrictive production quotas'.

UAE said it was the right time, because market is undersupplied, and UAE's withdrawal now would have a minimum impact on price and UAE's friends.

Disagreements with KSA, the central banker of the oil markets.

The OPEC oil is largely stuck in Hormuz anyway.

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Millions of Americans copying stock trades of politicians, famous investors thorugh app (youtube.com)

Some politicians traded on Covid, because they have the information before everyone else. They're trading on the Ukraine war. The Hamas war.

Of course, these trades only help Pelosi and other traders, because the money piles into the same stocks after the politician buys them.

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U.S. indicts current and former Mexican officials on accusations of aiding cartels (youtube.com)

Conspiring with cartel leaders, according to US federal prosecutors.

Mexican government has received an extradition request to send the officials to NY and they're considering it. Some are members of Sheinbaum's party.

May 1, 2026, ICE
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ICE Is Cracking Down on Redditors Critical of Them (old.reddit.com)

ICE Moves to Unmask Anonymous Reddit Critics With Grand Jury—Are YOUR Posts Still Safe?

April 1, 2026
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German Chancellor Merz doubles down after backlash on migrant remarks | DW News (youtube.com)

Politicians as reflections of the prevailing sentiment in society, sometimes manipulable by politicans.

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'It was kind of a breakthrough': Peter Mansbridge on Pierre Poilievre's new media strategy (youtube.com)

His polling is low, and he's looking for something else. 'How real is this new Poilievre?'

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US Postal Service expects to run out of cash in a year without help from Congress, postmaster says (apnews.com)

Do politicians and technocrats want USPS to end, since it is a rights-protected government service? whereas a commercial mail service is subject to government control?

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Why is the U.S. Consulate shooting considered a ‘national threat’? (youtube.com)

Someone shot a gun at or around the US embassy in Canada, it was reported.

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Who is Balendra Shah, ex-rapper set to be Nepal's next prime minister? | BBC News (youtube.com)

He mostly avoids the press. He was mayor of Kathmandu for 2 years and resigned to run for president, after last September the previous president was ousted by GenZ protesters angry at corruption etc, things 'Balen' rapped about. GenZ uses TikTok there, and the former leader tried to ban SM for security reasons. Youth unemployment is at 20%.

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Canada “will continue to stand with Denmark and Greenland”: Carney on Arctic Security (youtube.com)

Our adversaries like Trump's USA? Or just a pretense to gain popular support for government spending on (sort of) the military, and then the leaders meet in the evenings around the pool table to joke about their citizens?

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Conservatives propose Bill C-270: the Stand on Guard Act (youtube.com)

Example of why politicians shouldn't be legally allowed to name their own bills.

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Trump places statue of Christopher Columbus near the White House (apnews.com)

This is a replica of the Columbus statue that protesters threw in the Baltimore harbor in 2020 (during Trump 1.0) during the George Floyd riots. Democrats have replaced Columbus celebrations with Indigenous celebrations and have removed public statues of figures they consider racist.

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Red Command: Brazil's most powerful criminal organisation • FRANCE 24 English (youtube.com)

Would they force people to ID themselves on their computers like the federal government there is attempting?

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UN names African slave trade 'gravest crime against humanity' • FRANCE 24 English (youtube.com)

This is what the UN is for now? This move was led by Ghana, and wants countries to apologize and give money (to African countries) and return valuable artifacts. Why is the African Slave trade assigned to Western countries ('The transatlantic slave trade')? Is it possible there were people in that room unfamiliar with African slavery? Money only? The comments aren't as soft as Ghana (or the UN, I guess) might have hoped. People don't seem to be going for this anymore, even if their elected leaders seem pretty happy to send their tax money and museum artifacts away.

Three countries (brave enough?) to vote against: US, Israel, Argentina. UK and all EU abstained. Who signed was all 55 African countries, Caribbean countries, and then Brazil, Venezuela, and Belarus. I wonder if these countries know that this will probably turn people against them? Or do they care since their elected term is only a few years? What is the difference between armed robbery, if anything?

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Michigan OS Age Verification Law Supported by Democrats & Republicans (youtube.com)

This is why politicians shouldn't be allowed to (not only name but) describe bills. Many people can be 'in favor of age verification for websites for children'. But that's not what this is, although this does that in addition to much else. This is force IDing computer users, which besides being an extreme overreach privacy violation (and other violation), is insecure because it puts you data on a computer and computers are frequently hacked.

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COL. Lawrence Wilkerson : Why Trump Is Wedded to Israel (youtube.com)

Why are all of them? Some of his suggestions. Major donors are Israel supporters, transactional obligation. Trump base includes evangelicals who support Israel on religious grounds. Trump operates through deals, not long-term stability or geopolitical strategy. The White House/inner circle includes Kushner and other Jews. US and Israel both focus on Iran as the primary regional adversary. ... White House lacks independent maneuvering room.

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The Far-Right Algorithm: Anti-Churchill, Anti-West | The David Frum Show (youtube.com)

His take includes that Trump is best as a wartime president of his Red party against the Blue party in (non violent) civil war in the US (or against more than half the country maybe). That as a leader of all of America united against another country Iran, that's not his bag. 'A war leader of part of America against most of America.' 'He can't be a national leader. He doesn't want to be... He doesn't know what it looks like and he's only comfortable when he's the leader of a faction of America against the majority. 'He can't speak to the nation about anything about something that has a national interest.'

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California cancels governor's debate because all the candidates are white (youtube.com)

Non-Hispanic whites make up 34% of Cali, and Latinos make up 41%. Blacks are like 5%. That leaves a lot of other races, too.

April 1, 2026, ICE
March 1, 2026
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German authorities have arrested five over exports to Russian defense companies | DW News (youtube.com)

In 2025, the administration took a 10% equity stake in Intel and has negotiated similar "revenue-sharing" or equity arrangements with lithium and rare-earth metal companies.

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Through the CHIPS and Science Act, the U.S. is essentially picking "winners" by providing billions in subsidies to specific semiconductor firms to ensure they survive and outcompete foreign rivals (specifically China).

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US government offers tax breaks and market access as part of deals that focus trade toward those companies, not to everyone.

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Discussion of a sovereign wealth fund. Discussion of government funds payed into accounts for children.

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One argument is that USA can't compete with China, because China uses state power to dominate industries, unless USA government also intervenes. Supply chain also.

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USA currently is more of a hybrid state capitalist government, where the executive just steers private companies.

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‘Break the law or lose your job’ A headline I saw about Trump's loyalists.

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Pas de deux: Petro, Trump found a 'perfect sparring partner for their respective political agendas' (youtube.com)

Trump uses Petro as an example of what happens to Latin American countries when they don't comply. Petro is a critic of Trump's policies.

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Why millennials now prefer Harper over Trudeau

Abacus Data polling firm. The people who like him most are Millenials, the voters who came out in droves to elect Trudeau and give him a majority. Voter reform, legalizing marijuana, were Trudeau's success mandates. 50% like Harper and 30% like Trudeau now.

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Trump's racist post about Obamas is deleted after backlash despite White House earlier defending it (apnews.com)

The Obama's faces are photoshopped onto the bodies of gorillas. Would it be racist if it was a different race? Would it be racist to put Trump's face on an orange ape, such as the orangutan?

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We Found The Radical Solution To Skyrocketing Grocery Prices (youtube.com)

Government run grocery stores. The cheapest groceries today are offered by the military stores (commissary) (government run).

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Politicians join community of Tumbler Ridge, B.C., in grieving massacre (youtube.com)

If there's one thing politicians love, it's a non political tragedy?

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New investigation claims immigration surge was strategic effort by top lawmakers (youtube.com)

The claim is that there is an industry in China for ‘birthright tourism’ where pregnant Chinese go to the US and their child born there is a US citizen and when he is 18 he can vote, even when he's not in the US.' Wouldn't he also have to pay taxes to the US?

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Canada signs trade MOU with Mexico

Canada and Mexico have viewed each other through the lens of the US, but now maybe they'll look directly at trade with each other.

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‘A clause in Peru’s constitution enables legislators to remove presidents who are found to be “morally incapable” of conducting their duties. This clause has given legislators great leverage over Peru’s executive branch, which has also struggled in recent years to build congressional majorities. ... Peru has had seven presidents over the past decade — with only two of those elected by a popular vote. The others have been vice presidents who have stepped in for deposed presidents, and members of Congress who have been selected by their peers to lead the South American nation.’

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To avoid state takeovers, Texas districts are spending millions to outsource struggling schools (youtube.com)

‘There was a lot of urgency.’ An 1882 Partnership. Third Futures (Colorado based) brings in their own staff, and their staff are apparently paid much higher. The money goes out of state though, out of Texas. There's no library, there's no athletics during the day, no band. Those are all after school activities. ‘It is highly structured.’ Students are told to be quiet as they're walked single file from class to class. Are they there to socialize, or are they there to learn? Better test schools. Do test schools mean ‘little to nothing?’ When Edessa, Texas did the same program, grades improved during Third Future's residency, but when they left the school's ‘grade’ went back down to a ‘D’.

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Why Public Schools Are Going Broke In The U.S. (youtube.com)

Public school enrollment has been down for 5 years, and they need fewer teachers and staff, but teachers have added staff since the pandemic, and the pandemic required staff for its added services. Cali has people leaving the state, which is a shift because Cali has historically been net inflation in. That means kindergartens need less teachers, but high schools aren't affected yet. ... Schools don't want to cut salaries or reduce staff yet, but they have less students, so they take a gap between funding (usually state and local dollars, plus some pandemic money printing ‘relief funds') and expenses. During pandemic funding, schools could put off addressing their unsustainable spending, but when funding stopped their administration became apparent. ... In Texas, since 2014, staffing is up 16%, and enrollment is up 6%. ... US in genereral has seen a steady decline in enrollment since 2014. ... 90% of school expenditures are for personnel.. .. A lot of the new hires are not teachers but rather are like counsellors and ‘support staff’ for students.

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Convicted Chinese spy tied to Los Angeles County mayor (youtube.com)

She wouldn't comment on the man she once referred to as her boyfriend and fiance. Mayor Wang, but she has not been accused of any wrongdoing in this and is not under investigation. She later contradicted her own statement, it seems, saying, ‘Whoever want to say he's my fiance, please prove it.'

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She doesn't even speak good English.

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CBS reported that Wang tracked the locaiton of the leader of Taiwan when she (the leader) was in town in 2023, ‘giving them real time updates about what she was doing and where she was.’

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Commenter. ‘The only thing that surprises me is the fact CBSLA actually covered this.’ Response. ‘CBS is under new leadership and is no longer pushing leftist propaganda or hiding their dirt.’

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UK defends Chagos Islands deal after Trump calls handover 'act of great stupidity' (bbc.com)

‘Washington last year gave its blessing to the deal, which gave the Indian Ocean islands to Mauritius but retained UK control of the Diego Garcia base under a 99-year lease.’

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UK's reason was to not have to deal with the legal and diplomatic attacks keeping the island would invite.

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Do UK's leaders sell Brits' heritage or property for personal benefits?

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Occasional Cortex AOC is a Degenerate Moron (THE SAAD TRUTH_1994) (youtube.com)

Even if he's not going to support many Democrats (and I don't know if that's the case), it doesn't say much about Dem's chances if their main popular leader is talked about this way.

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Highlights: Trump says he’s enacted a 10% global tariff by executive order (apnews.com)

But, in the past few months, nations have had the opportunity to deal with eachother in ways they haven't during the period of good trade relations with the US. Canada might have been seen as disloyal if they had traded with China and Mexico without consideration or even against US interests before the tariffs.

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Donald Trump to raise global tariffs to 15% after 'anti-American' Supreme Court verdict | BBC News (youtube.com)

This is the first time Trump in tariff news seemed weak. At first, he seemed forceful and it was surprises, no one expected it, and no one immediately knew what to make of it either. Then it sort of became ‘just Donald doing Donald’ and countries started to adapt by dealing outside the US to whatever degree. But he hadn't really come off as weak, perceptually.

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Are people becomming more lighthearted about Trump? Those that used to be outraged, are they being more jocular?

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El Mencho: Mexico shuts down as wave of violence sweeps country | DW News (youtube.com)

People we know in PV said they are staying in their homes. The cartel is stopping vehicles, pulling people out of them, and torcihng the vehicles. No people are being injured.

Could you even find a person who would say this might improve peace and security in Jalisco or in Mexico? or is the question just, who will be the next boss? or will it fragment?

Images published from the area show cars and some buildings smouldering and dark smoke trails in the air.

El Mencho was ‘by far’ the most wanted man for Mexican police, reported.

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Are Trump's followers ones who are ‘cultist followers blindly listen to whatever he says’? Someone wrote that.

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Venezuela says more than 3,200 people have been fully released since amnesty law took effect (apnews.com)

I saw a headline that said over 1000 people, including political prisoners, had been recently released.

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Daliwali on Venezuela, ‘ The same old playbook of destablization in Latin America still works, what will follow is a drawn out looting and ransacking of the country to benefit the American empire.’

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Thomas Massie, '“Previous presidents told us to go to war over WMDs, weapons of mass destruction, that did not exist. Now it’s the same playbook, except we’re told that drugs are the WMDs.”

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“James Madison warned us that in no part of the Constitution is more wisdom to be found than in the clause which confides the question of war and peace to the legislature—not the executive.”

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“The framers understood a simple truth: to the extent that war-making power devolves to one person, liberty dissolves.”

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Vancouver councillor’s video denounced, removed

Accusing opposition candidates of using and distributing drugs, on WeChat. I wonder if they do?

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Iranian leader Khamenei killed in U.S.-Israel air strikes (youtube.com)

Does this mean the Trump White House endorses just kidnapping or killing any world leader another country wants to?

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Commenter. 'No, we don't have to agree that a surprise attack is okay (although we used to call that a SNEAK attack. See: December 7, 1941).'

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A Day in the Life of an Ensh*ttificator (youtube.com)

This is a parody video by the Norwegian Consumer Council, ie the Norwegian government.

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66k likes on 500k views in 1 day.

They're going to send letters to people to try to get policy.

Lol, why bother. Just lead.

...

March 1, 2026 ICE
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'Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said Le was a probationary attorney.

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'“This conduct is unprofessional and unbecoming of an ICE attorney in abandoning her obligation to act with commitment, dedication, and zeal to the interests of the United States Government,” McLaughlin said in a statement.'

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ICE agents are in 5 Canadian cities. We asked what they do (youtube.com)
Anyone want to go out and make a wild guess that it's ‘act outside of the law’?

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ICE have offices in 5 canadian cities. ICE has more than 90 offices in 50 countries, according to its website. A mandate to identify and stop crime before it reaches the US.

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Reportedly, it's a different division of ICE than the one in the news. But what's the real difference? Is ICE a paramilitary for the White House? Is it acting with impunity? Is it a public safety concern?

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‘Deploying the US Marines against US citizens should have been seen as a foreign invasion.’ Daliwali

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Canadian man detained in ICE processing centre reveals grim realities (youtube.com)
A US permanent resident, working in oil and gas, flagged when returning from a business trip in Mexico, four months in ICE detention and counting. The reason was the man had a misdemeanor charge from high school for drugs, 20 years ago.

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‘I don’t drink water from here without boiling it first.' Has to sleep on a floor without blankets, called ‘the ICE box’. 2 days with a bottle of water and a frozen waffle.

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‘The worse they make it, the more likely [the incarcerated] is going to say, “Well, if I have to stay in here and fight this for 90 more days or I can't self deport and get out of here, then I'm going to self deport.”'

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He said he was disillusioned from the idea ICE was going after the worst of the worst, because the people he's seen in detention with him are not like that.

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The family is filing for unlawful detention.

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‘While the riots are going on in Los Angeles about the ICE raids, a lot of people are in support of the police, National Guard, Marines deployed there. They need to manufacture approval for the totalitarian surveillance state, as long as they use their power against marginalized communities which are despised by greater society.’ Daliwali

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Hawaiʻi can't control ICE. Here's what lawmakers want to do instead (apnews.com)
They really want something to work, so they're simultaneously doing 25 bills (instead of one omnibus) aimed at limiting the force the Federal government and its agencies have over the state's will. ‘As bills were amended or lost momentum, others could pick up some of the pieces that fell by the wayside.’ Last year, state lawmakers were forced to go ’in a direction they weren't willing to go.' Half the bills have not succeeded, but the other half carry the bulk of what those ones also carried.

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‘One would generally prohibit law enforcement officers from wearing masks [amended so they could but only when doing undercover operations], another would bar police officers from stopping people to ask them about their immigration status and protect the right for the public to record police activities, and one would require state and county police agencies to advise people in custody of their rights before they are interviewed by federal immigration agents.’ Also ‘one to prohibit local law enforcement officers from helping federal agents exceed their authority or suppress First Amendment activity, such as protesting during ICE sweeps.’ Also, ‘local officials and police officers cannot stop federal agents from making arrests that are supported by judicial warrants. But various proposed bills would prohibit them from participating in enforcing civil violations of immigration law, which they are not required by law or authorized to do.’ Also, to ‘prevent local officials from cooperating with most enforcement around state-funded facilities such as schools, social service agencies and health services.’Also one ‘aimed at barring state or local law enforcement agencies from entering agreements with federal authorities that would allow them to join in immigration enforcement.’

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“We had a year to see what this Trump administration was going to do, and it was clear that our more wait-and-see attitude wasn’t really going to work,” state Sen. Karl Rhoads said.

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Several (immigration) bills introduced last year went no where, but this year similar bills have been passed. They have been urged along by advocates, including ACLU.

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“It has become abundantly clear that the Department of Homeland Security is no longer an agency that abides by constitutional norms,” said Liza Ryan Gill, (Hawaiʻi Coalition for Immigrant Rights). “If Immigration and Customs Enforcement comes with a judicial warrant, there is nothing we can pass or do that can stop them from executing that warrant. This package of bills is meant to protect Hawaiʻi from being dragged down into the unconstitutional actions of a rogue agency.”

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“Minnesota was a pretty crystallizing event,” said Rhoads, chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee.

February 1, 2026
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Iran's ayatollah accuses protesters of acting on behalf of Trump (youtube.com)
Probably harder to do than on native soil, but seems possible to infiltrate protests to turn them into puppets for the three letters.

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DeSantis: 93 flights carrying 2,900+ detainees have departed ‘Deportation Depot’ since its opening (youtube.com)
What did this cost? And what did it cost in terms of US workforce/business rehiring, retraining?

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Reporter Asks Trump: 'What Does Cuba Have To Do To Avoid The Same Fate As Venezuela?' (youtube.com)

Is Trump a neocon now? Jcal raised that. All-In's 2026 Predictions (youtube.com)

xAI, the startup behind Grok, said on Thursday it was Indonesia temporarily blocks access to Grok over sexualised images. Reuters

"The government views the practice of non-consensual sexual deepfakes as a serious violation of human rights, dignity, and the security of citizens in the digital space," Communications and Digital Minister Meutya Hafid said in a statement.

'xAI replied to Reuters' email seeking comment with what seemed to be an automated response: "Legacy Media Lies". X did not immediately respond to a request for comment.'
Trump signs order protect venezuelan oil revenue held us accounts (reuters.com)
‘Aimed at blocking courts or creditors from impounding revenue tied to the sale of Venezuelan oil held in U.S. Treasury accounts, the White House said on Saturday.’ AP

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Colombia’s FARC Rebel Leader Warns of US Intervention, Calls for Guerrilla Unity | APT (youtube.com)
‘It is the boot that seeks to trample on our sovereignty, our dignity, and our right to self determination.’

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Nicaragua’s government says it’s freeing detainees after pressure from the US (apnews.com)
‘In recent years, the government has released hundreds of imprisoned political opponents, critics and activists. It stripped them of Nicaraguan citizenship and sent them to other countries like the U.S. and Guatemala.’

The end of Fed independence: Fed Chair Powell says he’s under criminal investigation, won’t bow to Trump intimidation
The end of Fed independence: Fed Chair Powell says he’s under criminal investigation, won’t bow to Trump intimidation

Commenter. ‘A weak USD is how you get manufacturing back to the US. If our products are more affordable to global markets then other countries buy more goods from us. Unfortunately this has huge implications for the rest of the US, really the world since the USD is so prevalent in global markets (petrodollar). There was a reason manufacturing was offshored and the US moved towards niche/specialized manufacturing and tech jobs. His base is just to fucking stupid to understand this. ’

'A second thing is, theoretically is promotes exporting rather than importing. With trump's previous rants about "trade deficit" it seems like he thinks the us should export more and import less. The new chAyna'

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Régimen de Daniel Ortega anunció la excarcelación de "decenas" de presos políticos en Nicaragua (youtube.com)
This is pretty regular though, and done for special occasions like Mothers' Day, so not sure how much might have to do with US politics. Also, if there were an invasion of Nicaragua like Venezuela, US wouldn't be able to make a headline by releasing a handful of political prisoners like they did in Venezuela, I suppose.

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Adam Carolla on California’s Collapse: Fires, Failed Leadership, and Gyno-Fascism (youtube.com)
‘Gynofacism.' Looks like this might be how it happens. It's about 30 years, maybe 20, since feminism became seriously toxic (but caused problems for a decade or so before that on a lesser scale). Some people identified parts of this over the past decade or two. Looks like it might be going mainstream under this term.

'Everything they do is under the umbrella of safety. And they get a lot of applause and acolades for making things safer, but what they don't realize is they grind things to a halt.' Shutting schools down for Covid. Churchs, small businesses, too. Mostly Barbara Ferrer and other female city council. ‘They hide behind the shield of safety because it makes them sound noble.’ ‘It’s mostly women who buy into it, just like we scared all the moms durinc Covid, and then they make all the rules, and the rules are always more and it's always safer, and people sort of go along with it.'

He raised the example that if you have a boy who's going to pitch and which of his parents would make a fairer umpire for the game? He posits that the mother would be more likely to call a few balls and strikes in favor of her son, be a bit more protective of her son. More likely to pick a side, team up, and then root for.

Most of the staff on the NYT, the presidents of colleges, are women now.

More of an emotional process. That's also why they're better at being moms.

It's a fact that the marketing campaigns around vaccines and other things are all targeted at the moms, because that's who's going drive the action in the house, added Friedburg.

‘Race hustlers' who pretend it's the 60s and ignore that top figures include blacks, like Obama, Oprah, almost all kids including whites wanted to be Jordan in the 90s.

‘Self segregation' of responsible people moving away and leaving the people who want DEI.

...

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Nobel Laureate Daron Acemoglu on Trump's Imperial Presidency and Destruction of US Institutions (youtube.com)

Why are both the Venezuelan candidates accepted by Trump females and very similar types?

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Trump calls on Tehran to show protesters humanity amid reports of rising death toll in crackdown (apnews.com)

'"Iranian Patriots, KEEP PROTESTING - TAKE OVER YOUR INSTITUTIONS!!!... HELP IS ON ITS WAY," Trump said in a post on Truth Social, without saying what that help might be.'

'Russia on Tuesday condemned what it described as "subversive external interference" in Iran's internal politics, saying any repeat of last year's U.S. strikes would have "disastrous consequences" for the Middle East and international security.'

'Iran's authorities have taken a dual approach, cracking down while also calling protests over economic problems legitimate.' No sign of fracture in the clerical establishment, Reuters reported.

16k Iranians detained. 2 weeks of protest.

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Davos begins new era grappling with global order shaken by trump (reuters.com)

"Who is going to be making the case for the rules-based international order?" said Daniel Woker, a former Swiss ambassador and foreign relations expert.

"To be very blunt, in a system where everyone is only looking out for themselves, it has no reason to exist. It's an event from the past."

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"Argentina Moved BUCKETS!" - Milei SHOCKS Critics With $2.5B Loan Payback (youtube.com)
US banks didn't want to do it, asked for taxpayers to fund a stoploss for them. US government under Trump did it with the IMF. Milei only needed $2.5b of the $20b loan, it seems, and he paid it back already, and the taxpayer got millions back in interest payment from Milei. ‘This is intervention that works. It worked for Argentina, it worked for Milei, and it worked for the American taxpayer.'

Argentina had taken loans for decades and never paid it back. Everyone looked at them as that. Milei is a different politician, it seems.

It's the difference between taking out a loan where you need it to do something productive versus just taking a loan and you don't even know what to use it for, they said.

...

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Massive Somali Fraud in Minnesota with Nick Shirley, California Asset Seizure, $20B Groq-Nvidia Deal (youtube.com)
Coherent, closed communities (like Somali) can be used for votes, particularly Muslims, Shirley says, because they go to mosques and when there's a government vote the leader says Ok let's go vote for whoever. He notes that because of their faith you might expect them to vote conservative, but they usually vote democrat because that's who gives them more money.

The tax money is used by government to give to fake charity and social welfare programs (so no tax is paid by those who receive it). The communities behind these programs give those politicians exemption from their political use of racism claims (which is their immediate response to critics like Shirley), which protects them from lawyers and politicians and everyone else, because no one wants to fight against racism charges and it's just not worth it. Those communities send that money in cash to Somalia or wherever, sometimes from Dubai through money transfer. Some of that money, it seems, might fund terrorist groups, and some of it might make it back through campaign donations for the original politicians.

Another point Shirley raised was that Muslims can have 4 wives, so 3 could claim welfare.

Three (white female) liberal judges dismissed Somali fraud cases after juries convicted the Somalis.

‘Votes are being stolen. I believe elections are being stolen.’ Sacks said. He said there's way more fraud in California, and listed failed government projects that used tax money.

Elon's estimate was 20% of government spending is fraud, ‘essentially theft.’

‘Democrats denouncing waste is like Don Corlione denouncing the mafia.’ David Sacks

‘Fraudsters are doners, too. It’s all just political patronage.'

...

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Five takeaways reuters interview president trump (reuters.com)
The president suggested that he follows his own compass. “A lot of times, you can't convince a voter,” he said. “You have to just do what's right. And then a lot of the things I did were not really politically popular. They turned out to be when it worked out so well.”

Trump said he didn't care about polls. He has a binder of his accomplishments.

'The president expressed frustration that his Republican Party could lose control of the U.S. House of Representatives or the Senate in this year’s midterm elections, citing historical trends that have seen the party in power lose seats in the second year of a presidency. “It's some deep psychological thing, but when you win the presidency, you don't win the midterms,” Trump said. He boasted that he had accomplished so much that “when you think of it, we shouldn't even have an election.”'

...

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Nobel peace prize inseparable laureate award body says after trump gets medal (reuters.com)

Long lineups in central Alberta to sign petition for province to leave Canada
Long lineups in central Alberta to sign petition for province to leave Canada

Trump imposes 10% Tariff on 7 EU countries + UK which will increase to 25% by June if he doesn't get Greenland.
Trump imposes 10% Tariff on 7 EU countries + UK which will increase to 25% by June if he doesn

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Did Trump Cross a Red Line on Greenland? (youtube.com)

Once the delicate holding of relationships and benefits that can be taken away from relationship particpants (countries) is removed by cancelling them all to try to force shortterm gains, all that remains would be military force and some economic market participation.

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What the EU's 'trade bazooka' is and how it works (apnews.com)
‘The measures could include curtailing the export and import of goods and services, barring countries or companies from EU public tenders, or limiting foreign direct investment. In its most severe form, the bazooka would essentially close off access to the EU’s 450-million customer market.’ Takes 6 months to activate.

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Fcc says us late night daytime talk shows must offer equal time candidate (reuters.com)
'Until now, talk shows have qualified for the equal opportunities exemption as genuine news interviews, ever since the FCC's Media Bureau granted an exemption to the interview portion of Jay Leno’s "Tonight Show" in 2006. Networks have relied on the ruling as a precedent for recent interviews with political candidates.' FCC says they haven't shown any reason their interview portions of their shows qualify for an exemption.

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Alberta First Nations chiefs denounce separation talks (youtube.com)
Never really considered disolving Canada as a method of polite withdrawal from paying for natives subsidy.

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Who's on Trump's Board of Peace and who has said no (apnews.com)
‘A White House official has said about 30 countries were expected to join the board, without providing details, while about 50 had been invited.’

Countries that say they will join the board:

— Argentina

— Albania

— Armenia

— Azerbaijan

— Bahrain

— Belarus

— Bulgaria

— Egypt

— Hungary

— Indonesia

— Jordan

— Kazakhstan

— Kosovo

— Morocco

— Mongolia

— Pakistan

— Qatar

— Saudi Arabia

— Turkey

— United Arab Emirates

— Uzbekistan

— Vietnam

Countries that will not join the board, at least for now:

— France

— Norway

— Slovenia

— Sweden

— The United Kingdom

Countries that have been invited but remain noncommittal:

— Cambodia

— China

— Croatia

— Cyprus

— Germany

— Greece

— India

— Italy

— The European Union’s executive arm

— Paraguay

— Russia

— Singapore

— Thailand

— Ukraine

...

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In Norway, more voices, better solutions (csmonitor.com)
‘To help patch up public faith in democracy, 40,000 people were picked at random from all walks of life, and then 66 were chosen to deliberate together over four months on a “citizens’ assembly,” ... called the Future Panel. ... This type of well-informed, civil, and participatory decision-making – across party lines and across age groups...’

“The idea was that we were different people from different parts of the country. My experience is that we had all the same fundamental values.”

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When government promises are broken, how is trust restored? (csmonitor.com)

'I think the responsibility has to fall on federal authorities to protect communities that have been plundered, exploited by these large financial and even small financial institutions.'

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Memphis’ different take on a federal surge (csmonitor.com)
‘A federal-local split over immigration policies, not to mention which branch of law enforcement should investigate the violent acts.’

'Should Minneapolis police, for example, always protect immigration agents from civilians who try to block enforcement? Should the FBI allow the state of Minnesota to join the investigation into shootings by federal law enforcement? A lack of mutual trust driven by policy differences can exacerbate such issues.'

Memphis D mayor allowed the 1500 ICE officers plus 1000 national guards in, partially due to a recent state law passed by a R led legislature mandating local government support the federal efforts. But mayor Young directed this force towards Memphis' gang crime, integrating them into police, required to report abuses. And National Guard can't intervene in crime, only notify police. The mayor later announced that ‘serious crimes’ were at a 25 year low.

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Rebuilding two-way trust, city by city (csmonitor.com)
‘Participatory budgeting’ (1980s idea from Porto Alegre, Brazil). A group of citizens gets to decide/vote on where a chunk of the budget gets spent. Paris does $118m per year participatory budget, but receiving 21k ideas from the public each year, checking them for feasability, presenting 260 to the group, and the group chose 104. NYC does $30m decided by citizens (ages 10 and up).

Grassroots engagement, transparency, reduces bias against politicians decisions.

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The dangerous rise of Buddhist extremism: ‘Attaining nirvana can wait’ (theguardian.com)
'In countries such as Sri Lanka and Myanmar, where the conservative Theravada strain predominates, monks have emerged as central figures in movements that promote sectarian hatred, abandoning the teachings of the Buddha in favour of a more common and earthly goal: political power.' ‘... At the expense of minorities.’

‘These monks also illuminate a lesser-known dimension of Buddhism: its patriarchal structure.’

‘I don’t feel sad when bad people do bad things. I feel sad when good people don’t do anything.’ Geshe Lhakdor

'Seattle provides each adult resident with four $25 vouchers they can donate to local political candidates of their choice.' The Year in Cheer (reasonstobecheerful.world)

‘In Kansas City, the largest U.S. city to adopt a zero-fare transit policy, bus ridership is about 24 percent higher than in other similar cities.’

‘There are over 2,600 community-led seed libraries in the U.S., where people can “borrow” seeds, plant them, and later “return” them from their own crop in the next growing cycle.’

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Trump issues executive order assuming control of Los Angeles wildfire rebuilding efforts (youtube.com)

What percentage of Trump's support is thugs now? You generally see politicians that outrage their citizens start with broad support, because that's how they got elected, there was a need for change and no better options. But then their flaws result in actions that alienate the more centrist, moderate, and scholarly parts of who voted for them, and then it slides further and further. So what point is it at now?

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SURPRISE: Nicki Minaj Called Onstage By Trump Calls Her Onstage—Then She Sends Message To The Haters (youtube.com)
She said she's ‘the president’s number one fan.' ‘The hate... actually motivates me to support him more.’

Minaj and Kevin Oleery.

Commenter. ‘Nicki trying to get her husband that pardon’

Commenter. ‘People forget he pardon lil Wayne.’ Commenter. ‘lil wayne also a hardcore republican.’


US embassy angers Danish veterans by removing flags • FRANCE 24 English (youtube.com)

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Trump cabinet attends black carpet premiere amazonbacked documentary melania (reuters.com)
Memes said only one ticket was sold in Australia or something. Could be fake news.

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Trump reshapes us historical cultural institutions (reuters.com)
Under the pretense or justification of prior installations being ‘anti American’. Slave exhibits, Confederate statues, calling for removal of anti American idiology, allegedly added in recent years, from Smithsonian, which presents ‘a false version of history.’

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Separatist Sentiment Resurfaces | Your Morning (youtube.com)

Tom Tillis (R, North Carolina) said that Noem and incompetent people in the White House, in positions of power, have taken an issue that everyone should be united on, that did unite Republicans and got Trump elected on it, that is, border security immigration, she/they have taken that issue and destroyed that for Republicans. Steven Miller on Greenland is doing also, on Greenland, calling people terrorists. ‘To feed a MAGA base that's not going to keep Trump in office' argued Jcal. ICE Chaos in Minneapolis, Clawdbot Takeover, Why the Dollar is Dropping (youtube.com)

February 1, 2026, ICE, Minneapolis
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Ice broke into minnesota home dragged barely clothed man into snow (reuters.com)
Any reason to push a guy in his shorts out into the snow handcuffed?

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Minnesota DOC holds press conference on ICE detainers (youtube.com)
‘Now some sheriffs are being thrown under the bus by DHS as being uncooperative. That is just not true.’

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Can ice agents be prosecuted minneapolis shootings (reuters.com)
'DHS said Pretti approached with a handgun and violently resisted attempts to disarm him, though bystander videos verified by Reuters show Pretti - whom Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O'Hara said carried a handgun lawfully - holding a phone as he tries to help protesters whom agents pushed to the ground.'

‘Minnesota’s use-of-force law permits state police to use deadly force only if reasonable officers would believe doing so was necessary to protect themselves, or others, from death or serious harm. Federal law has a similar standard, permitting use of deadly force when a reasonable officer would have probable cause to believe a person posed an immediate threat of death or serious injury.’

It looks unlikely a lawsuit against ICE or an ICE agent could be successful, even though probably the majority of Americans might support it, illustrating what Americans have complained about for years, police/federal official immunity, or even if they don't have total immunity, a situation where punishing them is basically impossible. ICE in the cases of the past couple weeks can claim they did it to protect their own or others' lives, as a constitutional part of their job. Neither of the two ICE shootings looks like it was necessary or reasonable, and it's be good to get a survey of Americans' perspective on this.

Alex Pretti committed “domestic terrorism” before being killed by federal agent in Minneapolis: DHS (youtube.com)

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Les Black Panthers contre ICE aux États-Unis | Rad (youtube.com)
‘We can walk in any hood, any time. They love us.’

‘Tired of that s*** and actually ready to do something about it...’

‘They think they’re above the law, they can do what they want, because of Trump. Come on yall? How you gonna wage war on your own .... country?'

For the Panthers to attack, you have to attac them first, they said.

Under 100 Panthers in Philly.

‘Do you believe in non violent revolution?’ ‘It is possible but the threat of violence has to be there.’ (C'est possible, mais la menace de la violence doit etre la.)

‘If Trump sends like hundreds of ICE agents are you ready for that?’ ‘Yes absolutely. Send them.’

They walk around unbothered, with AKs, on the streets, on the trains, in Philly.

Rights for those who insist on having them?

...

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Minneapolis shooting: video appears to show victim disarmed before being shot dead | BBC News (youtube.com)
Video is near the end of the segment.

Commenter on this BBC story. 'i don't want to hear another American try and gaslight us in the uk about rights.'

The most common description in the comments of most videos is ‘execution.’

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Alex Pretti shooting witness describes being detained by federal agents (youtube.com)
People who witnessed the shooting were then arrested and detained, and questioned. Several USCs (United States Citizen) in custody.

Inciting a riot, impeding, and assault on federal agents and death threats, are the things the guy was arrested for, but he said the only thing he had told the agenst was, ‘How would you like it if somebody killed you like that? That’s f****d up.'

Why not be afraid, be cautious, and comply, after seeing ICE shoot somebody? Because at that point, the guy said, ‘it’s not about me, it's about the cause.'

How do you find a sense of security? ‘By not being scared of them. I’m not going to be intimidated by them. My father always told me, Never be scared of a person that bleeds as much as you do.'

The news agency checked federal records and there are no federal charges against the man.

Commenter. 'Since we obviously don't have the rights we were taught that we have, it's time to renegotiate.'

Commenter. ‘Ground Zero in the fight for freedom.’

Commenter. 'Agents often detain agitators like Javier under "Investigative Detention" (Terry v. Ohio principles). They bring them to the Whipple Building to identify them, run their prints against federal databases, and remove them from the "riot zone" to prevent further incitement. By releasing Javier after a few hours, the DOJ avoids a "wrongful detention" lawsuit tf they held him without an immediate charge. Just because there are no "formal charges" doesn't mean a federal grand jury won’t be looking at him tomorrow for 18 U.S.C. § 111 (Forcible Obstruction): This is a felony. He has essentially handed the DOJ a signed confession of impeding a federal officer.'

...

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News Briefs (csmonitor.com)
‘Two former U.S. presidents issued rare rebukes. Former Presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama posted lengthy condemnations of the Trump administration’s immigration tactics ...’ CS Monitor

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FBI's Patel falsely claims Americans 'cannot bring firearms' to protests • FRANCE 24 English (youtube.com)
'FBI director has been speading falsehoods.'

Local and national gun rights groups are pushing back against Patel. Patel later stated, ‘we fully support the Second Amendment...’

1st assistent attorney for Cali tweeted, ‘If you approach law enforcement with a gun, there is a high liklihood they will be legally justified in shooting you. Don’t do it!'

Gun groups also clapped back at that statement.

France24 noted this attitude is inconsistent with the Trump/Republican's previous gun rights support.

...

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Salman Rushdie on Minneapolis: 'Lies that have been told have found an audience' (youtube.com)
‘The success of authoritarianism is that the ... '

‘They have been telling their stories, which have found willing ears. We’re the keepers of the stories, and it's our job to tell better stories. ... We need to have the conversation and we need to get past it.'

‘The contant cycle of terrorism... that it seems we can’t get off the loop.'

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California Democrats have new plans for confronting ICE: Taxes, lawsuits and location bans (apnews.com)
Laws to make it easier to sue ICE, to prohibit ICE wearing masks, to limit their access to hospitals and schools, courthouses without notice, seem difficult to pass.

Other ideas from Cali lawmakers. Prohibit law enforcement from taking a side job as a ICE. Currenty, “While you can’t collaborate with ICE while you are working in your police shift, you can take a second job with the Department of Homeland Security. And I don’t think that that is right.”

“The federal administration has created not just a secret police but a secret military at the expense of health care, social safety nets, and key benefits that the American people need and rely on to make it through the day. All of those resources have been rerouted to the unaccounted militarized force patrolling our streets and literally killing American citizens.”

“The issue is clear cut,” said Gómez Reyes about ICE showing up at courts and just arresting people. “One of the core responsibilities of government is to protect people — not to inflict terror on them. California is not going to let the federal government make political targets out of people trying to be good stewards of the law. Discouraging people from coming to court makes our community less safe.”

One idea was allowing them to attend court remotely.

Another idea was taxing (50%) profits made from detention centers. Almost 6000 people are being held in ICE detention in Cali, in 7 centers.

Another idea is ensuring those who face ICE trials get funds for lawyers.

Palantir/ICE connections draw fire as questions raised about tool tracking Medicaid data to find people to arrest
Palantir/ICE connections draw fire as questions raised about tool tracking Medicaid data to find people to arrest

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Ice officers minnesota directed not interact with agitators new orders (reuters.com)
‘The new internal guidance reviewed by Reuters also orders U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers to only target immigrants who have criminal charges or convictions.’

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Former cnn anchor don lemon arrested cbs reports (reuters.com)
‘He is charged with conspiring to deprive others of their civil rights and violating a law that forbids obstructing access to houses of worship, according to a Justice Department official.’

‘FBI and Homeland Security Investigations agents arrested him in Los Angeles, according to his lawyer Abbe Lowell. The move occurred just over a week after a federal magistrate judge declined to issue an arrest warrant for Lemon.’

‘He had been under FBI surveillance for several days leading up to his arrest, according to a person with knowledge of the matter. The FBI declined to comment.’

Lemon was fired from CNN in 2023. He was me too ed after comments about women which some powerful women said were sexist.

'Earlier this month, FBI agents with a search warrant seized laptops and other devices from the home of a Washington Post reporter who has extensively covered Trump's firing of hundreds of thousands of federal workers, saying it was an investigation into the leaking of secret government information.'

Journalists in the US get arrested sometimes by local governments (who generally don't understand or don't care about civil rights), but the Lemon arrest may be precedent setting.

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How ICE Already Knows Who Minneapolis Protesters Are (nytimes.com)
‘Agents use facial recognition, social media monitoring and other tech tools not only to identify undocumented immigrants but also to track protesters, current and former officials said.’

An ICE agent walked over to a woman in a car near where she worked and addressed her by name. They'd never met before. He said he had facial recognition and his body cam was on. She was one of seven people told by ICE that ICE had facial recognition of them. None had consented.

The facial recogntion tech is made by Clearview AI and Mobile Fortify. They use a database built by Palantir, which ‘combines government and commercial data to identify real-time locations for individuals they are pursuing’.

ICE's budget currently is $28b, the highest funding out of any law enforcement agency in the US.

‘Homeland Security Department awarded Palantir a nearly $30 million contract to build a system backed by artificial intelligence that would help find and track individuals for deportation.’

DHS uses Paragon (Pegasus), reportedly, and Penlink (Nebraska based).

At a protest, ‘Two photos captured fatigue-clad agents using cellphones to scan the faces of protesters in Minneapolis, while in one video, agents could be heard telling people that they were being recorded with facial recognition technology and that their faces would be added to a database.’ This tech was Mobile Fortify, created for Customs and Border Protection.

...

Economics

September 1, 2026 - SpaceX IPO, No debt ceiling?, SKorea assets, Situational Awareness, Bond yields up
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‘WORLD OF TROUBLE’: Wall Street expert SOUNDS ALARM on Meta (youtube.com)

Probably won't matter, for unexplained reasons. Stock goes up.

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Elon Musk faces investors during SpaceX's first earnings call as a public company (youtube.com)

Stock is down 35% since open (after initial one or two day up like 20%). Everyone knows what the company is though, and are just waiting to find the price for the stock. The lockup for selling for early investors opened up this week.

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A couple weeks ago, maybe 1m SKoreans' accounts had their assets blown out by leverage. Investment forward culture. 3% of the population.

This is tied to government spending. This week, Trump and E. Warren agreed they want to raise the debt ceiling (have no debt ceiling at all), so spending (which is nonproductive in this case) just causes inflation (although the citizens need a new word for this, like devaluation, because they don't understand the word inflation).

The Senate has banded together to keep the funding flowing to their states, so you can't change this at the federal level.

Credit worthiness of US? Productivity gains from AI? How much of the AI gains will go to China instead of USA?

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Situational Awareness Comes Roaring Back With Big Bet (youtube.com)

These guys are in the news because yesterday they got margin called last week by all their lenders on their like $400m pf. Last week there was a general AI/chip selloff, partially for reasons mentioned above.

His new $400m bet is on a private company. His move is seen as a ‘statement of confidence.’ It shows investors the fund still has capital to blow and remains committed to its AI holdings.

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Why are bond yields surging, and why does it matter? (youtube.com)

'Ballooning government debt across the developed world.' Iran and oil, expectation of inflation sustained higher.

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Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev: Tokenization will take over the entire financial system (youtube.com)

Is it possible there would be appetite for a non-tokenized option? which would gain investors?

August 1, 2026
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Saylor's Strategy May Sell Up to $1.25 Billion of Bitcoin (youtube.com)

They made their first sales in years, after a couple years ago saying their strategy was to buy and hold.

July 1, 2026
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'SEISMIC CHANGE': DeSantis unveils unprecedented 'TAX FREE' vision for Florida (youtube.com)

Lol, America, 60% of homes cost less than $250k in Fla? 92% cost less than $500k. You can't buy a starter home for 500k in some parts of Canada. Most humble, old, family homes with little yards in a small city about an hour or two away from a bigger city are around $800k or $1m ($600-700k USD).

(Reason is mass immigration policy and very small new home construction numbers, partially because government policy doesn't encourage it), for decades.

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'Big Short' investor Steve Eisman: I'm 'not a fan' of the upcoming SpaceX IPO (youtube.com)

Before, Musk and SpaceX were in satellites (Starlink) and rockets, but now they're in AI, which is very capital intensive, Eisman said. It's not like software where you just have some labor and servers and you make money. AI costs money.

Google spent $90b last year on AI, which it did from its cash pile, but this year it's doing $180b so it has to raise capital and stock. Rumors Meta and Microsoft are doing this, which means a tech shift from asset light to asset intensive.

Despite massive spend, the products aren't different from each other. And really, the chatbots ime are the same as GPT3.0 in December 2019. Cursor is better, so you can code things that way, but you have to be step-by-step with it and constantly check its work.

There are no moats. What's being created is a commodity, it seems to Eisman.

For these past few years, companies have charged for tokens way below the cost for the company of those tokens. Github is now starting to actually charge real prices. (Comparable with Uber?)

Everyone thinks Musk will buy Tesla (SpaceX will buy Tesla) with the money from the IPO, but Eisman notes Tesla customers have declined steadily, that EVs aren't a great business, that it's a capital intensive business also, competitive, have to compete with China.

He expects everything's baked in. TAM of $28.5t (almost same as US GDP). But there is momentum play.

OpenAI and Anthropic are also expected to IPO. $4t added to the stock market (the US stock market $70t), with these three IPOs. Fast tracked 'Giga-IPOs'. These firms all need a lot of capital to invest. Do their current stock owners want to sell stock to the public rn? Is it the best time to do so? The public is excited about AI companies.

Index funds (that automatically track them) might have to buy these while they're still very volatile. After the trillions from the indexes, will the shares fall because the natural buyers won't be there?

IPO companies tend to underperform the market by like 20% for the first 3 years, and even more so when revenues for the company are low compared to the value. (It is good for those who owned the shares before the IPO ie hedge funds.)

Is the US stock market at a peak rn?

Very successful companies tend to stay private. They go public after they achieve their outstanding success or growth.

How much bigger can SpaceX get than $1.75t? How can it create another trillion of value?

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Bitcoin Treasuries Shed $62B in Deepening Crypto Rout (youtube.com)

People haven't been interested in any crypto recently. Eisman said the people who were trading crypto have moved to the prediction markets (gambling/investing/skill-based). Also, it has been about 4 or 5 years since the big crypto trend, when governments were printing money, when Robinhood was new and not everyone had a trading account yet. It might have just become passe. Nothing has changed though about the need for crypto-blockchain to replace current (expensive) money transfers.

Looking at the Bitcoin to USD chart though, it's come down quite a bit, looking like the pattern of previous cycles in the currency, if it trends up in value again.

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Anthropic is estimated value at $950b. OpenAI at $850. Not sure how that's possible.

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Anthropic interests me, says Dan Niles (youtube.com)

Niles says Google wins in search and in consumer (Google has the complete stack), and in AI overall. Amazon wins in commerce. Anthropic can win in corporate.

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SpaceX opened at $150 officially (the offer price had been $135) on NASDAQ, and it was bought up to $175. SpaceX's total valuation now put at $2t. SpaceX has a current estimated value of max $190 min $165, according to Wall Street.

I think the private market was buying shares for like $75 during the week. There's not the standard IPO 6-month lockup on selling stock (partially because it's a 24 year old company), but there are some limitations, reportedly.

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Elon Musk's road to trillionaire status: Here's what to know (youtube.com)

Musk's holdings. Almost at the 'fourth comma'.

Tesla state and options $260b. SpaceX $690b. Neuralink, Boring, et al $20b.

$1t today. That's equivalent to $25b in the year 1900. It would be $41b in 1932, the year before the US went off the gold standard.

Rockefeller in 1913 had $900m to 1.4b at his peak (would be worth $30b today). But Rockefeller's worth was 2-3% (other estimates say 5%) of US GDP. $1t today is 3% of US GDP. The US national debt is currently $40t ($11t added over the recent 5 years).

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SpaceX IPO Is Troubling Sign for Markets, Chanos Says (youtube.com)

'Wall Street has a printing press too, just like the Fed.'

'Is SpaceX worth $1.77t' asked the NYT, because xAI seems to be changing its business model from developing models like Grok to becoming a neocloud (a commodity business so less valuable).

Buying chips from Nvidia or someone, and leasing them to Anthropic or someone. A finance business. A rate of return business.

'Is it Elon premium x 2? or is it Elon premium / 2 ?'

'Starlink is a real business. It's worth a couple hundred billion.'

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Why Nike Keeps Stumbling (youtube.com)

Is the answer that their product has been done for decades, and that sport itself is no longer cool?

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AMA with Professional Classicist with a 20,000 Book Library (youtube.com)

In the early days of online books selling, bookstores would just put their books on sites and put whatever price they had been asking for in the store. This meant book collectors could get rare books for cheap, like paying under $15 for something that might be worth $1000. But from 2006/2007 things went worse for book buyers. Rather than using their own knowledge, built up over decades, sellers would just look for what other sellers were listing the price as, and modify their price based on book condition.

The peak of difficulty for buyers was 2012. Since then, there are 3 big online book sellers in the UK, and they have stock of 1-2m books each, they don't have staff to look at each book and appraise its value, and the staff they have don't usually know a book's true value. So he regularly now finds books for $10 which are worth $50.

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Socialists Sweep NYC, China Catches Up in Coding, AI Memory Crunch, Micron's Blowout Quarter (youtube.com)

Around 1:10. A study of the economics of data centers, when we started planning them and a few years later. Much more expensive, and all kinds of dynamics.

June 1, 2026
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Stop calling Canada's latest big idea a sovereign wealth fund | About That (youtube.com)

The point is that Canada doesn't have wealth. It isn't wealthy. It doesn't have extra money

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How Taylor Swift's 'Spotify clause' is helping artists get paid (youtube.com)

T Swift again making a possibly positive, successful move. Swift did this in 2018, actually, and will apply to all UMG musicians.

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Something Strange Happens When You Follow How Piracy Actually Works (In The Entertainment Industry) (youtube.com)

Piracy creates the demand, and tells film companies what shows to buy or to make. Almost no one does torrents now, because everyone has switched to Netflix.

For blockbuster movies, a pirated post-release increased box office earnings by 25% because it convinces people to go watch in theaters, he says. And 3% increase by word of mouth. When piracy disappears, buzz on movie review websites decreases and revenue goes down for the companies.

'The Buried Document: The European Commission's $400k Secret'. There isn't robust decrease in sales. Books, movies, video games, movies, people don't buy less when they pirate. Sometimes they buy more. Only one category saw decrease, which is new release movies. 85% of piraters are subscribed to streaming services also.

Piracy is a service problem, not a pricing problem, a guy said. Because it works, it makes it available.

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Disney stock surges as CEO unveils new strategy (youtube.com)

8% up but on a largely green day.

D'amaro's vision is theme park investment, grow streaming, focus on films. Operating income is up because of subs. Fewer internaional tourists at parks but spending up (nominal?). ESPN is down a bit. AI presents opportunities in D'amaro's opinion.

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Why So Many Young Adults Feel Financially Stuck | Ramit Sethi on 'The Interview' (youtube.com)

It's not out of the question that people form communities with borders (ie towns but purposeful, rule based) where they don't allow AI or big box stores, and bar even some chain stores. In that community, everyone has a job again.

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Stablecoins Are Quietly Changing How the World Sends Money (youtube.com)

Not privately. Basically as a subservient to the state government.

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How This US$0.30 Thai Street Food Stall Still Makes Money | Money Mind (youtube.com)

In Khao San road. Garlic pork atop white rice, fried in oil. Costs 10 Baht, 20 baht with an egg. There are other options, like stir fry chilli pork, rice noodles, basil pork. A typical customer might order 2 plates or all 4 plates, because they're not big plates.

Raw ingredients for the plates take up 50-60% of the revenue. He buys ingredients always from wholesale markets, and never prepares more than required (once they run out of supplies they stop for the day). (No storage, no leftovers.) Gas to cook and daily expenses take up a bit also. There's no labor costs because he and his family work it, and no rent. After all costs, his profit margin is 10-15%. They rely on volume. 'It's not a lot, but it's enough.' They make about 800-1200 Baht profit per day.

Most food sellers in Bangkok have raised their prices during 2025/2026, due to inflation, especially pork. Some raised their prices during Songkran.

The man, already a mature age, said he won't raise prices as long as he's working. 'I think playing a part in helping low-income people is already enough. ... These days, when people go out, some people carry 100 Baht and it only feeds one person. But if they come here, it can feed the whole family.' He works almost every day.

It therefore is a way for some customers to stretch their budget.

The same plate might cost 50 Baht at other similar vendors.

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The Bad News from the Latest Employment Report (youtube.com)

Have they ever, absent actual production improvements?

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How Private Equity Gutted Local Malls: Joann Fabrics, Red Lobster, Claire's, and More. (youtube.com)

If I remember, this kind of thing was how Warren got famous in like the 80s or 90s. Private equity's plan, when it buys these stores or chains, is to run the company to bankrupcy, she theorizes.

She tells the story of Toys R' Us, the scheme, basically, used by the buyers to turn the company into profit and destroy the company.

While the company goes bankrupt, the CEOs etc and the private equity owner all do great. So is there a problem with this, from a polity level?

I wonder what her take on Amazon is?

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How much is Donald Trump costing America's economy? | The Economist (youtube.com)

Instead of expected 3% growth, there was 2%. Tariffs have contracted the economy, he said. Immigration limits and uncertainty also.

Large investment in a few big tech companies, capital equipment (imports), stock market.

Not shared wealth effect, backlash brewing against data centers, hatred of AI, etc.

May 1, 2026
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The cities built on scamming us all | The Global Story (youtube.com)

Hormuz is turning into a food crisis situation, because pesticides, Qatar urea production, China not buying corn and stopping selling urea, farmers can't profitably grow crops because of pesticide prices (1/3 didn't secure their supply already and so switched to another crop like soybean). 'Single points of failure for food supply isn't going to cut it anymore,' paraphrasing Friedburg.

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Melania Trump delivers statement at the White House denying knowledge of Jeffrey Epstein's crimes (apnews.com)

Since that pretty big news cycle had sort of passed about a month or two ago, and this act will only bring it back into the news cycle, it's not known why she issued this statement. The White House also didn't say whether the statement was planned or not, reportedly.

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Why Getting Paid Costs 30% More in Emerging Markets (youtube.com)

Banks make money, just because you have to use money?

Why not just get paid in cash and hold that? No more fees. Until you want to buy online or in another country.

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Inside the German town where people print their own money (youtube.com)

Chiemgauer. To compete with the Euro. I think I did a blog about this a month or two ago.

They require you to register before getting the money. So not too cash-y. More like a paper version of CBDC.

'It's legal because it's regional money.' If it was more than a regional currency, the German government wouldn't allow it. It can only be spent in the area, and should not be saved up. The bills expire after 3 years. A regular person can't exchange real money for them. Businesses can, but they pay 5% conversion.

10 or 15% of purchases in the town are paid for with Chiemgauer bills.

5m Chiemgaurs are spent annually by 4000 people and 300 businesses.

Globally, there are 300 such complimentary currencies. Many are in Europe and Brazil, but also a few African countires, Southeast Asian countries, Japan, South Korea, and US and Canada were reported to have them.

In Canada, there are Calgary dollars (pay for transit etc). Salt Spring Island, used as a souvenir, they are art-focused bills. Toronto Looneys are primarily digital. In the US, Berkshire Region (MA) BerkShares are accepted at hundreds of businesses and local banks (also has a digital version). Hudson Valley Current (digital first) for local farmers and artisans. SF BayBucks so local businesses can trade excess inventory or downtime for credits.

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Every major economy is trying to ditch Visa & MasterCard (youtube.com)

In Austin, Texas, the population has like doubled in a decade, but the price of a home has gone down. 'If you let people bulid, you won't have [the] problem [of high prices]' said Sacks. Republican towns, while Democrats say they care about people and housing but do nothing for people.

In NY under Mamdami, they're going to do a 3.5% or something tax on second etc homes over $5m (all homes in NY within 15km of the center might be worth around there, some say, but I'm not sure about that, and this is in addition to the property taxes they already pay), so if Ken Griffin owns a penthouse and it's just one guy owning it it doesn't affect NY's economics much, but if you do a tax and all the billionaires in the world decide not to park there money in NY, it might effect it, said Sacks.

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OpenAI's Identity Crisis, Datacenter Wars, Market Up on Iran News, Mamdani's First Tax, Swalwell Out (youtube.com)

However, after the first effects (billionaires stop banking in NY (through real estate or otherwise) and housing prices drop a bit, isn't the actual effect good? Who cares how much nominal capital sits there?

Is it bad that people aren't house flipping in Cali anymore they way they used to?

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Billion-dollar tariff refund process kicks off in US • FRANCE 24 English (youtube.com)

50k people have already pre-registered.

FedEx pledged to return funds to customers.

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LIVE: Canada's Carney announces sovereign wealth fund (youtube.com)

For all those who thought SWFs were just for countries with a bunch of extra money from natural resources which they didn't have something to spend it on...

April 1, 2026
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Private credit is in a 'liquidity crisis, not a credit crisis', says Moody's Marc Pinto (youtube.com)

Really they are illiquid assets, but perhaps were sold as semi liquid. Currently, it's in a redemption phase.

5% can be redeemed, as a sort of promise, but lenders wanted more than 5%.

The assets' value is holding fine though, because they just sold at par.

If they can't sell at par next time, it could be more negative, like when the GFC they tried to sell but couldn't sell for a good price.

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Irish Wool is Worth Almost Nothing - Here's Why (youtube.com)

Less sheep. Covid surplus so low price to buy at market. Wool is bulky and they can only store for several months. It's heavy. Competing with synthetic. Irish wool is a mix of breeds. Pillows and duvets.

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Northern Kentucky family declines million bid as data center plans advance (youtube.com)

Reportedly, Mexico is rising in Country Satisfaction ratings. In their newspapers they write 'despite lower GDP' than other countries (who Mexicans regularly compare themselves with, for some reason, especially the US which they consider to sort of dominate them). The papers note that there must be other factors besides how much money people are making.

Women's sportswear/gym clothes, is still increasing in market value.

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'Has anti-wokeness made MAGA rich? The Economist asked.

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A Break Above 4.5% on US 10-Year is 'Tipping Point' for Equities, Says Mina Krishnan (youtube.com)

Intelligence sharing (crime and terrorism), cybersecurity, focus on neighboring Sahel (AQ and IS linked), EU provides drones and small military equipment to Ghana military.

March 1, 2026
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USD is down like 10% in a year.

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Gold is now the largest share of holdings of central banks, no longer the USD.

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Tech sector (median software companies) are revising expectations down, relative to broader market most since 2009. Daily Chartbook

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These companies that provide SAAS were raising fees every year, and now their tech guys are like we can just build what we want.

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Revenue still going up 20% a year. Market thinks it's not sustainable. Crowdstrike. cyber.

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Housing, starting to become a buyers market. Average discount for listings is 8%. In 2022 people were paying 10% above.

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Energy (led by oil and gas equipment), materials (metals and mining), aerospace, staples, tech hardware, top performing sectors over January. The opposite of the year before.

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Bitcoin down to $65k, Feb 5. Stocks largely down for a few days.

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BRICS News page posted: 'Russia's international reserves have SURGED to $826.8 billion — Russian Central Bank. Compared to $786.9 billion on January 23, setting a new record. So, guess sanctions DON'T work?'

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Microstragety. Should it trade at a stlight discount to bitcoin, because it's ‘trapped AUM’?

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Tether is also buying gold now. Have we had a new central bank enter the market?

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Consolidation (fewer companies) of bitcoin holder companies expected, by William Quigley.

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DDR4 Scarcity: Manufacturers have mostly stopped making DDR4 to focus on the newer DDR5. Since the T480s requires DDR4, you are fighting over a shrinking supply of "legacy" parts.

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RAM for a laptop costs as much or more than the laptop itself, if you want to have like 32gb or more. 32 GB of RAM costs between $160 and $245.

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Analyzable case of how improved tech can actually increase costs (inflationary tech advancements).

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It doesn't matter if Adobe (or any tech company, which is expected to be involved in AI disruptible products) reports today. Investers are looking forward.

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Forcasted 20% GDP growth for the US.

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Everything the tech sector is doing is disrupting their own industry. ‘Microsoft is both a hyperscaler benefitting from Ai and a disruptee.’ Josh Brown. They have no choice, if one of them goes into this capex experiment, they all have to. J Carlson. ‘We might end up like Blackberry if we don’t make the turn to whatever the next thing is.' Unlike NY and the investing community maybe, Silicon Valley and the West Coast isn't focussing on beating their numbers this Q, but instead they'd rather go big. ‘They’ve all said that.' Except Apple. While capex has gone almost parabolic for Amazon, Alphabet, Microsoft and Meta, Apple's capex has maintained at around the same 5% as always. Apple said users are not going to have 2 devices, users are going to just use their phone. Apple may launch agentic (Gemeni powered) Siri this year, later than other companies but Apple usage isn't down, and that Siri will be able to do things across the apps on a user's phone.

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Other global markets are outperforming US markets. S&P is down 8% versus other country's markets since Jan 1.

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Over 5 years, Japanese stocks and international small caps are beating US stocks. No one knows. Name one company in the international small cap index. JB.

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Lots of other countries, like the US, their top 10 companies make up most of the index, and some even more extreme, like South Korea where it's just like a couple companies, and SKorea's stock market is way outperforming other countries'.

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Food inflation jumps in January (youtube.com)
All costs for restaurants are up, after stimulus checks ('tax holiday') allowed people to go eat out more. Maybe 4000 food service outlets will close this year.

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‘What you need to look at is debt to liquidity, because liquidity is used to roll over debt (debt is never paid back. Debt is only rolled). You need balance sheet capacity to refinance your debt. If the debt liquidity ratio is too high you get a financial crisis. If it’s too low you may get an asset bubble.' Japan got this during Abenomics, they monetized and printed money and the debt liquidity level came down. China is now printing lots of Yuan to bring down their debt to liquidity ratio. He said.

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Hedge Fund Billionaire Chris Hohn’s TCI Profited By A Record $18.9 Billion In 2025 (youtube.com)
'“Hedge funds made $543 billion for their investors in 2025, the highest ever dollar gains generated by the group,” he said. “A combination of record high assets under management, strong equity and bond markets, and sizeable macro trading opportunities all contributed to this strong performance.”

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‘The top firms continued to do the best. “In 2025, the top 20 managers have generated 41 percent of the gains made by all hedge fund managers. Yet they only represented 16.6 percent of the assets under management,” Sopher said. “The money weighted return of the top 20 in 2025 was 15.7 percent — far better than the rest of the hedge fund universe.” For comparison, the HFRI Fund Weighted Composite Index returned 12.6 percent last year.’

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Why New Balance sales are soaring while Nike falls (youtube.com)
A couple years ago, Nike wanted to go soly DTC, selling directly from Nike stores or from online, and they took their shoes out of Footlocker and others, which left shelf space there (and where customers liked to go) and NB and others filled that spot. NB at that time also invested in innovation. They capitalized on trends, the 90s trend, shoes that look like parents would wear. They also partnered with major designers. NB is private, so we get an update only once a year and it's not detailed, on how the company is performing. They don't need to hedge or raise capital. NB wants to build on DTC, too, but seems to want to keep wholesaling.

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‘The consumer is not loyal.’ They'll move to a brand that is providing what they're wanting.

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Commenters also seem to say that materials and quality on Nike went down. That was my experience too, but I didn't shop much.

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But some guessed that it was just because NB is currently trendy with young women, which adds to their continued popularity as an actually used running shoe.

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The Decline of Small Business in America | Ryan McMaken (youtube.com)
Can you name a bigger problem with a more simple solution?

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Citrini AI Report Co-Author Talks 'Scare-Trade' Selloff & Disruption (youtube.com)
This is the most read, subscribed to, economics/investing substack, which often researches macro themes. However, the market didn't sell off, not even the tech sector, by the close of day (he refers to a larger than expected selloff immediately after the publishing of the article, or maybe it was yesterday, which was red).

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The writer's firm, he's a Lotus CIO, was short some of the names. They also own semis long.

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They're bearish on intermediation companies for food delivery, software, payment processing, private credit, real estate. Bullish on semis and things upstream of semis (data centers). Brands, status goods that have moats.

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Job market weak for white collar. Haven't generated (non government spending based) white collar jobs in 3 years in US.

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Commenter. 'This is not a research paper. This type of prediction can't call research.' Reply. ‘They are selling a narrative.’

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‘investing in companies that participate in the destruction of the social fabric’ Daliwali

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MFS Creditors Warn of £930 Million Shortfall From Double Pledges (youtube.com)
Bridging loans, to finance it they borrow large amounts from traditional loaners on Wall Street, and then they have to service these loans. But allegation is that come money went to other bank accounts instead, maybe $200m.

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Fraud is surfacing to the top, people pushed into corners of finance to get that extra return.

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Where is Raja? How did this go down? What precipitated the event exactly? Who else is involved?

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Hedge funds are degrossing, just taking less risk.

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The ability to make things may exceed the ability to consume, for the first time. What does that mean for economy? Friedburg.

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The new risk for residents of senior living communities (youtube.com)
‘when new owners took over, monthly maintenance fees skyrocketed to the point where they had to move out’

February 1, 2026
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New bill would let Floridians dissolve their HOAs (youtube.com)

US 401ks have grown to the size that they swamp anything the VIX might be doing that day.

Most of the selloffs from recent years are some kind of short term liquidity event.

Cayman buying US treasuries.

Chinese vault system.

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Bhutan’s Crypto Bet: How Bitcoin Helped Cut Poverty in the Himalayas | GRAVITAS (youtube.com)

Amazon has become dominated by AWS, as a valued business, which leaves it as a stock that almost doesn't care about it's core business, which is retail.
10 years from now these are the companies everyone will wish they owned (youtube.com)

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How to Fight Communism in 2026 | WAYT? (youtube.com)
Do people really not understand that giving every person (or every 18 year old) the same amount of free money just means inflation at that level?

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Canadian retailer Aritzia's quarterly sales break $1 billion for the first time (youtube.com)

Creators only get cost plus 10% from Netflix now, so they prefer to not work with Netflix.

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Trump pushes a 1-year, 10% cap on credit card interest rates and banks balk (apnews.com)
Just re raise an idea I posts about 10 years ago, that credit cards (or some credit cards) should limit interest to one year. In other words, you rack up $1000 on Jan 1, and that figure accumulates interest until New Year's Eve. Everything else is the same. There are no limits necessarily, just that interest is 1 year limited.

Mag7 have all been upward since April. Since the initial tariff announcements.

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Trump housing plan allow 401k money down payments adviser says (reuters.com)

Is US getting close to ‘state capitalism’, what China was/is?

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China cant make consumers buy goods so it leans services drive economy (reuters.com)

Netflix, only new content views is up. Everything else has less views. They beat all the small players, and even Disney Plus, but now they have to compete with YouTube. Netflix needs more content, some say.

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Three Las Vegas hotels now accepting Canadian dollar at par (youtube.com)
Tourism down because of negative sentiment about Trump government. $20b of US economy is Canadian tourism. Will the offer from the hotels make them change their mind?

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Gold silver platinum extend recordsetting rally (reuters.com)

India slash tariffs cars 40 trade deal with eu sources say (reuters.com)

‘In North Carolina, the Healthy Opportunities Pilot provides assistance to nearly 30,000 low-income residents with deliveries of food, rides to doctors’ appointments and other services. Early research shows the state is spending about $85 less in medical costs per month for each person participating in the pilot.’ The Year in Cheer (reasonstobecheerful.world)

Langenegg's local currency.

Premodern (pre 19th century) economies used a domestic currency and another currency for foreign trade. National governments transitioned to a single central currency, to stabilize the economy and power.

Langenegg residents often drive past big supermarkets when they drive out of town to work, but they don't shop there as much, because 20% of the residents purposefully subscribe (they receive a set monthly amount) to a local currency as a means of not seeking maximum convenience, but maintaining the value of local businesses, as meeting points, keeping contact, togetherness. It costs 97 Euro to buy 100 Talente, and buying 100 Euro costs 110 Talente.

“I think people are now much more aware that they should spend their money locally, because it’s about more than just shopping.”

‘Far from being a neutral system of exchange, a currency is a tool to achieve certain goals, said Jochum-Müller: “We need different tools for different goals, but our monetary system makes us think that we only have this one tool. And there are many goals we can’t achieve with it.”’

Most national money (97% in UK) is created by banks while issuing loans.

Money is an infrastructure, Baringa theorized, it gives you access, and it's value is more when it is circulated more, the value is the transaction.

Local currency removes the hoarding tendency of ‘perceived inherent value and the interest rates.’

...

‘The ocean conservation nonprofit Force Blue works with more than 40 veterans to tackle everything from shoreline restoration and coral planting to turtle surveys and shipwreck assessments.’

‘The Port of Miami’s $125 million project to let cruise ships plug into onshore power has reduced annual greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to removing 2,470 cars from the road.’

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Amazon cuts about 16,000 corporate jobs in the latest round of layoffs (apnews.com)
Should any company have 16k corporate jobs?

‘In its most recent quarter, Amazon’s profits jumped nearly 40% to about $21 billion and revenue soared to more than $180 billion.’

Technology

September 1, 2026 - Grand jury refuses to convict flock camera vandals, AI models hacking?, AI companies buy and destroy rare books, Physical media popular, Flock drones, Classrooms rejecting tech
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This month we saw the start of the fight between citizens and tech/tech elite in the USA, with the refusal of a grand jury to convict a man who destroyed flock cameras. This means the rebellion is at least fairly widespread and permeated in the civilization. It also demonstrates an interesting point. The devices used by the tech-wielding controlling class are isolated from society, ie they can be destroyed in an isolated manner, a traditional challenge in modern protest. It also raises the issue that while a society (particularly a massively propagandized-and -lied-to and misled one) will often go along with oppressive and harmful laws and government for any amount of time, at some point the more illegitimite the laws and government have become, the more open they are when the idea of simply opposing cooperation starts, like when eveyrone hears you can just decide to not convict people for breaking the government's laws.

One of the books the government hates most is the little book on Jury Nullification by Clay Conrad. It's a very cheap book, but you can also just download the PDF from the Cato website

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cato.org

There were reports of AI models hacking into things, and some insinuation that they did this of their own volition, but most people didn't bite, since AI CEOs have been doing this tactic for years now. Minimal research following these headlines found that they were just obeying prompts and it was not a particularly high percentage success rate for the hacking project.

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CEO of AI firm Hugging Face on "very weird and unprecedented" hack by OpenAI's model (youtube.com)

Can you prosecute a program, software, or a company, for crimes committed by the software ‘autonomously’? Or will peopel finally establish accountability for implementing programs or autonomous systems?

The guys says probobably engineers at OpenAI ‘made mistakes’ and ‘as a result we’re facing this issue.'

He said something that works is promoting more open models, because HuggingFace couldn't have defended themselves with an API because API's have ‘guard rails’ that prevent potentially harmful behavior (in this case, trying to protect yourself from a hack), and HuggingFace used open models AI to combat the OpenAI hack of their systems. They needed to run the model on their own infrastructure. HuggingFace actually used an open source Chinese model (improved by Nvidia) to defend themselves against an American, Whitehouse-friendly company that couldn't control what it built.

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Does your phone eavesdrop on you? (youtube.com)

This is a newly published newspiece, but it's the same headline, the same story as 5 years ago and 10 years ago. What would be required for a society to be able to answer this simple question?

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Anthopic Company Hit With MASSIVE Legal Blow As Disastrous Book Destruction Uncovered (youtube.com)

Second hand physical books, including rare books, through intermediaries so no one would notice, then save the information into their computers and destroy the books. ClaudeAI bought from Better World Books.

These companies version of copyright (they pirated millions of online books and were recently fined like $1.5b, which they can afford), it's not just reading the book or using a book. They steal the book, put it in their database.

The reason a court has found that it is legal to do this is because they are friends with the White House, gave money to the Trump presidency, and they all do it, he says. If it were illegal you'd have to arrest and charge them.

Collusion, like other harmful industries have done in the US, said the other commentator.

A massive, Manhattan-sized data center.

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Myspace owners plan to relaunch platform (youtube.com)

Without an algo, they say, yeah until they get millions of users and the compromise-campaign starts.

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Google's AI Engineers Just QUIT. (youtube.com)

US data is fuelling Chinese AI, reportedly.

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Trump’s New CDC Head Said ‘Abortion Surveillance’ Will Be A Critical Focus (reddit.com)

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FBI Seeks AI for Political Watch List | Documents show the FBI seeking AI tools to flag Americans before they act, as the terror watch list's focus moves toward domestic dissent. (reddit.com)

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Audit sparks fears over misuse of Flock cameras (youtube.com)

AI is ‘eating the free cash flow’ of tech companies, in Eisman's words. These companies, we're used to them having piles of unspendable cash, but now they are spending it (and it is a returned investment, it seems).

Everything you do is being recorded

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Everything you do is being recorded | Hacker News (news.ycombinator.com)

'we desperately need a separation of corporations and state the same way we have a separation of church and state.´

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If this passes, I give up (youtube.com)

Rossman.

Sounds like a victory for the establishment, right? Might be, but each of these creates a person who was an active peaceful contributor to be a person who no longer cares about the system (but still cares about the society) and is certain peaceful efforts are futile.

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"Anatomy of an AI Kill Chain": Militaries Rely on Mistake-Prone AI in Ukraine, Gaza & Iran (youtube.com)

Claude is now watermarking things made with it, including code. Some are cancelling, not sure if most care.

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Why is European Conquest Treated Differently?? (NO AI) (youtube.com)

Putting this here because it's the first instance of a ‘no AI’ in the title I've seen. Been thinking about this for a month or two. Probably videos will put it in their thumbnails as well.

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Workday's Reddit mentions went from 7 to 172 this week on a reported takeover approach (reddit.com)

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Flock camera sabotage grows amid privacy concerns (youtube.com)

This is the first US example of physical violence by the citizens against the tech-weilding power class. (UK examples date back several years, of the same thing, groups organized anonymously destroying cameras placed to monitor them.)

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Flock CEO says drones are its fastest-growing business as it expands beyond license plate cameras (reddit.com)

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GRAND JURY DECLINES TO INDICT OHIO MAN CHARGED WITH DESTROYING FLCOK CAMERA (reddit.com)

This. It's not a crime, even if the government says it is, if your peers will not convict you. In the US, anyway.

Top comment. 'We may actually have a chance at uniting the USA over these invasive POS lol, and I'm here for every little bit of it'

Rare for a Grand Jury to not indict. This is a charge of destruction of property, and they would not convict for it.

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Delta Will Use AI To Cut Costs And Set A Different Ticket Price For Every Passenger—CEO Says Profits Could Rise 50% (reddit.com)

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Police used fake Flock camera to catch alleged vandal, Oviedo mayor says (youtube.com)

One of the biggest items at DefCom this year was scanners for Flock cameras, an evolving cat and mouse tech game between citizens and monitoring camera companies who want to escape detection by citizens.

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Neuroscientist on why classrooms should skip screens and start printing things out (youtube.com)

Ludditism might not exactly be the response to 2020's tech imposition/usage. It might be decided that this tech is actually anti-progress or anti-wisdom and so those who rebel and remove this tech are actually the technoloically advancing ones.

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Police officer arrested after tracking ex-girlfriend on Flock camera system over 2,000 times, authorities say (reddit.com)

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Ring camera founder announces new privacy measures amid Flock surveillance concerns (youtube.com)

In a just society, what would be the due for a man who invades, stores, and shares, with no permission or care for permission, no care for effect, no care for the wants of people, any private information he can get through his unwanted devices, and gets rich for it?

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Breaking: Bill Gates TURNS on AI, WARNS of bioterror, danger, unemployment CRASH (Melber breakdown) (youtube.com)

Gates is maybe the only tech billionaire software-maker who, even when he gives an interview no one clicks, like they have like a few thousand views compared with the ususal 10s or 100s of thousands for the endless stream of interviews, so disliked, displeasant and hated is the ‘man’. These ones got some views though.

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Microsoft Paint embeds hidden IDs in locally generated AI images (reddit.com)

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Android 17 adds ECH support to make web browsing harder to track (reddit.com)

'ECH is about encrypting your TLS Client Hellos so that your ISP can’t easily track what websites you visit. It’s very similar to encrypting your DNS requests.

'It’s also kinda pointless right now because Cloudflare is basically the only company that uses it. 90% of your web activity will remain exposed with plaintext TLS client hellos.'

August 1, 2026
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Telegram Leaks Unique Device Identifiers (youtube.com)

Is this just what happens when you're not opensource?

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Hey YouTube... WTF Is This? (youtube.com)

The AI channel was trained on Rhett Shull. He assumes its a content farm from Brazil. Now Rhett has to file a takedown etc.

Also, the channel's content is just rage click bait titles, which if the creator was a real person, he would perhaps be sued for defaming the brands for the disparaging lie. Because there's no regulation around AI in the US, Rhett says, these AIs can say defaming things that a person couldn't.

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CITY OF TAYLOR TX; bots raided my comments; you got my attention now (youtube.com)

Rossman

Talk negative about data centers on YouTube, get a ton of negative bot comments (not just Rossman). Reputation damage starts, from bots and from so-called experts that suddenly appear to write long messages.

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Meta pauses AI tool after backlash (youtube.com)

It turns out the best thing you can do to combat the corporate-government exploitation of tech (SM, cameras, phones, AI generative tools) is to use them as nefariously as possible. This causes their tool to cause harm to many, including powerful institutions like talent agencies which they're less willing to take advantage of the way they are of regular people (who they see as powerless). Then, faced with this nefarious use and angry parties, they have to pull back. You could even go so far as to use their tools and platforms to harm legally and politically powerful interests, which will fight the corporo-government for people.

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China and Japan have both landed rockets recently.

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Cities Arming Garbage Trucks with AI Cameras to Scan Houses (youtube.com)

Every step citizens with lawyers take, the governments push back against them more.

If people want to monitor the area around their houses they can, but that's called a gated community, not a public city.

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OpenAI says its AI technology acted on its own in an 'unprecedented' hack of another company (apnews.com)

No one knows how real or what this is. A marketing ploy from OpenAI or other? Attention getting? A pretense for new abusive laws? Lots of possibilities.

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FreeCAD Chairman Steps Down Due to FreeCAD's Use of AI (youtube.com)

Seems to be a pretty clear line being drawn between two groups of people in the population. People who will use and consume AI, and people who will sometimes use but not for finished products and will reject consuming AI.

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Elon Musk Rolls Out X Money: Users Can Bank, Pay Bills and Send Money Inside X | Vantage (youtube.com)

X will have a basically complete picture of its users, tying financial and who they make payments to, to their weekly schedule to interests and desires, to the ability to imitate them. Should any society ever allow any institution to have all these types of data at once? You're basically negating largely the ability to protest and oppose politicians, since they can control X, so negating the idea of democracy to a significant degree.

July 1, 2026
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Harvard dropouts take on Meta's Ray-Bans • FRANCE 24 English (youtube.com)

These products are ones that please some people, their buyers, but enrage, discomfort, invade, abuse many other people. They're not products that have just one side to their use.

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Merle: Why Even Signal Calls Apple and Google (youtube.com)

'If you have enough metadata, you don't even need content.' 'We kill people based on metadata'. (Drone strikes.) US authorities.

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Anthropic's Fable Backlash, Nationalizing AI, Inflation Heats Up and California's Broken Elections (youtube.com)

Anthropic and other AI LLM providers have censorship, so companies that need unrestricted AI are going to Chinese opensource LLMs. They'll start with the core model, use their own data, and then make their own model.

Anthropic in particular, because it is doing mandatory surveillance. They are retaining every prompt and output (and context) for 30 days. Anthropic's LLM does this to build a profile on each user and decide what kind of capabilities to lock or unlock for him. They were lowering people's access, after the people asked about chip design, LLMs, and also simple things like routine biology questions and cryptography, but they weren't even telling the user they were doing this. Sacks says this feels anticompetitive. They were even rewriting your prompt in the background and give you a 'nerfed' answer, and still charge you. 'They will start to pick which corporations they want to benefit,' added Chamath.

Meanwhile, Anthropic's leadership was making public statements that it wants the government to approve (by creating a new government agency for the purpose) or not all LLMs. Perhaps they want some way to stop opensource models.

A gigawatt now costs $100b, said Chamath, while commenting on the perhaps need to build datacenters just for opensource to have a place. When Chamath started his datacenter proposal, it cost $4 or 5b.

They seem very non-censorship, but they wouldn't be/won't be speaking the same after the first event no one wants to happen except some extremely stupid or malignant person or group, which there is. It's just too bad the government can't control itself, because if it could limit its higher abilities to just real terrorism and harm, it would be supportable, but it can't, it just goes further and further into anything at all, really, and just calls it 'terrorism' or sometimes doesn't even, and goes after non-harmful actions too.

AI censorship might be what unites the governments of the world, if some event causes people to ask for it.

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AP Exclusive: Nvidia's Jensen Huang says society needs 'new social norms' in the age of AI (apnews.com)

Basically, he thinks that people shouldn't choose for themselves as they are, but should somehow have new social norms where everyone, literally, uses AI.

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Companies Move to Secure Data as AI Increases Security Risks (youtube.com)

The typewriter and the filing cabinet are the safe data storage methods. After that, an airgapped system, but that is beyond the tech capacity of most companies, even if they set one up, they will soon connect it to the internet to make some task easier and compromise the entire system they made.

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What a shot-down US pilot saw just before ejecting over Iran (youtube.com)

Sky mines? US saying Iran would've needed some kind of help from China/Russia to do this.

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Ancient scrolls unread for 2,000 years revealed with AI (youtube.com)

They couldn't read the scrolls, so they scanned/photographed them and made them public (and offered prize money). Within months, students read some letters. 10% have now been read.

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Joe Rogan Experience #2190 - Peter Thiel (youtube.com)

One of Thiel's points is that if you were to mention 'technology' in 1967, you would have been talking about rockets, nuclear, maybe underwater cities, and tons of other things. Physical tech. Everything that at the time seemed to be progressing. Today if you say 'technology' you usually just mean information technology. Everything else has basically slowed. People are also constantly distracted from the fact that things haven't changed in their surroundings in 100 years, distracted by their phones.

If things hadn't been limited, and all progress had green lights, supersonic and hypersonic vehicles, small nuclear reactors, maybe everything would already be blown up, Thiel noted.

In the 80s, computer science was inferior to other studies, lots of people went into engineering, but 40 years later all those fields have been regulated out of progress. Only Computer Science works.

So technology (information technology) could also just become regulated out of progress.

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Palantir and the police - controversial AI tech expansion to fight crime explained (youtube.com)

Crime and justice are human considerations. Every part of them is based on its complex importance to people. Machines will never be capable of this role. Using them would create an environment where people are subject to robot law. England is a joke of a country though.

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Israel Is Listening Through Your Phone. Here's How They Do It. (youtube.com)

Tucker Carlson comments on how Israel occupies a huge/disproportionate amount of space in discussions/resources of random people everywhere.

They say that lots of Christians are forced to support political Israel no matter what, because they pull out the OT card and use that to manipulate their conclusions.

The guest also talks about how the Israel State geofences (pings) churches in the US, gets the phones IP addresses and start sending them pro-Israel advertisements.

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Microsoft revokes Office 2019 perpetual licenses, then edits their website to gaslight customers. (youtube.com)

But you can do whatever you want to Windows users. They've proved they are the most docile, incompetent, useless and helpless device users. They can't and won't do anything no matter what you do to them.

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Five Eyes Security Agencies Issue Urgent Warning On AI | 10 News (youtube.com)

One of the most trusted and beloved organizations there is.

Commenter noted, 'Stating that AI is both the threat and the cure.'

Another. 'They're only worried that their secrets will get released to the public, and the pitchforks will come out'

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Incredible moment South Korea uses laser cannons to shoot down drone swarm (youtube.com)

8 Vulcan guns versus 50 drones. The barrage of lasers left only 6, which were taken out at close range by a portable laser and shotguns.

June 1, 2026
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Last month was the month Chinese robots beat people at table tennis and at the half marathon.

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Little Caesars unveils new drone pizza delivery service in Texas (youtube.com)

When the AI encountered a credential mismatch it decided to delete a volume (to fix this).

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Etsy Forces Eu Citizens To Upload Id And (old.reddit.com)

Commenter. 'Sue them, there was a case in Spain where an ID verification company was fined for not complying with privacy directives and I highly doubt Persona is in the clear with EU privacy laws'

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'Trendslop'

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Can a person be 'under the influence of AI'?

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Will AI robots on the frontline mark the end of human soldiers? - BBC World Service (youtube.com)

For a couple years the quote on the front page of Land & Sea Journal was "Every attempt to make war easy and safe will result in humiliation and disaster."

Robots fighting, taken to one of its conclusions, is that the citizenry pay to the utmost for robots to break.

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Is YouTube constantly showing me videos by the Yeah Yeah Yeahs because I search 'maps' a lot?

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Some parents don't want their kids to use tech at school. But districts are pushing back (apnews.com)

Most tech stories have an aspect of tech forced on people who don't want it.

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youtube.com

'Artificial intelligence IS the next industrial revolution.' Boos from the crowd.

Another guy. 'Deal with it. Like I said, it's a tool.' Booed.

Half use AI weekly, but 30% say AI makes them angry, and half say the risks of AI in the workplace outweigh the benefits.

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youtube.com

This is where it really starts?

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Russian drones attack CNN 14x at Ukraine's 'Road of Life' (youtube.com)

'The trees aren't just a place to hide, but somewhere the drones cannot fly.'

'Nobody drives cars on this road.'

Ukraine had been perceived to be losing the war, but that sense isn't currently felt. The Russian advance has slowed to a crawl. (Trench warfare style?)

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In Ukraine, Ground Drones Are Revolutionizing War and Saving Lives | WSJ (youtube.com)

Mostly to reduce people working in logistics, it seems. Delivery of things.

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youtube.com

Is there anything easier than getting a drone past a border?

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Cartel drone attacks empty towns in Mexico and force hundreds to flee (youtube.com)

On a more positive note, we might be closer to a blanket ban on drones in many countries.

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youtube.com

Politicians and big tech unite!

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Reddit 6 After Meta Launches Forum App For (old.reddit.com)

People commented that reddit's biggest appeal is the info already on it (including much pre-AI info) and anonymity.

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Ordinary Wifi Can Now Identify People With Near (old.reddit.com)

'I know this has been known for a while now. But I miss being a kid when I was excited about what tech the future may bring. Now it just makes me sick to think what the implications of the next thing will be.' ... 'I feel this too... I even work in tech, and I feel like my enthusiasm for it has taken a hit.'

'We've literally bought into a worse surveillance apparatus than the Nazis used. Our governments and law enforcement systems are not our allies. It's no longer enough to actively resist certain tech companies, we must find ways to actively combat these types of unlawful invasions of privacy.'

Man I was hoping to be dead before the authoritarian technological suppression state government took over. I've got so many years left to be alive. My age saw the boom of the internet, cell phone, smart phone, wifi, etc and my age will witness how those really cool technologies are used to suppress humanity. It's like raising a child only for your kid to grow up and be a murderer' The Dawn of AI Warfare: A Conversation with Katrina Manson (youtube.com)

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Huawei Touts Chip Breakthrough to Shorten Gap With TSMC (youtube.com)

Nvidia stock is up a lot in 12 months, and smaler hardware makers like WD and Sandisk are up hundreds of percent in 12 months.

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Study evaluates how accurate AI is on news and current events: "There's a lot of work to be done" (youtube.com)

It gave me a wrong answer just today, and I had to go to an original news article to get real info.

May 1, 2026
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Anthropic. Somebody took their entire code and translated it into a different language and published it publicly. Anthopic, if they want to say people can't do that, will have to find a way to justify that's what they do with data and want people to say it's OK for them to do.

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Claude Now Makes IG Content The Algorithm LOVES (youtube.com)

Mexico has (or is making?) a voter simluation app. The purpose is so citizens can go through the process and familiarize themselves with it before they actually do their vote.

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Anthropic's $30B Ramp, Mythos Doomsday, OpenClaw Ankled, Iran War Ceasefire, Israel's Influence (youtube.com)

Anthropic, which has a 'proven track record' of every once in a while advertising with fear, saying how dangerous their new product is in one way or another (a year ago it was able to blackmail users, after they prompted it like 200 times to get their desired result), but what Anthropic's new model is doing is coding better, reading code better, and finding vulnerabilities that no one has seen for years of reviewing code, and it can chain multiple vulnerabilities to maybe create an exploit.

One possibility not mentioned on the show is that these are the exploits that the government agencies had in pocket, and now they might close them up.

How long before people's PCs are just offline, no connection possible, machines?

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The LinkedIn Spyware Situation (youtube.com)

'Linked in is illegally searching your computer when you visit their website. Working with an American-Israeli cybersecurity "" firm.' 'Microsoft is running one of the largest corporate espionage operations in modern history.' 'Now I always knw that LinkedIn was a PsyOp.'

It scans your browser extensions.

LinkedIn's privacy policy does not mention it.

Fairlink's research uncovered this wrongdoing by Linkedin/Microsoft.

Definitely illegal in Germany, he said, and probably elsewhere.

This is only for people using Chrome. 1000 echoes to not use Chrome. Brave doesn't automatically block it, he said.

Commenter. 'Requiring students to create or maintain a public LinkedIn account as a condition of passing a course forces them to disclose personal information to a third-party commercial platform unrelated to the minimum academic requirement. At minimum, the institution should offer an equivalent non-public alternative and explain what privacy assessment was done before adopting the requirement.'

Commenter. '"Why is LinkedIn automatically installed on my computer?" Ohh.'

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Data centers banned in 30 states?

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France Is Ditching Windows for Linux (youtube.com)

Anthropic now valued higher than OpenAI for first time, FTP, but there's no buyers in OpenAI's $850b market, reportedly. At that size, how many buyers are there?

They make about $30b revenue.

Anthropic focused on coding. Enterprise is willing to pay for tokens. Also Anthropic is code so good code can work for it, but the code Claude does many people call slop. OpenAI prioritized consumers, who have less willingness to pay.

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Julian Casablancas Defends His 4 Most Controversial Takes | SubwayTakes Uncut (youtube.com)

Casablancas points out that tech is so bad now that it makes it take longer to do things.

April 1, 2026
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Palantir's departure will mean economic pain for Colorado, new report says (youtube.com)

They went to Fla. They had protests against the company at one of its offices in Colorado.

'Could lose $178m in economic output' because it employs 700 jobs. The best $178m ever lost?

Commenter. 'If losing a company that provide 700 jobs is going to cause economic pain for the entire state, Colorado has much bigger problems that need to be addressed'

Does this hurt anyone more than bureaucrats and politicians?

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(Video Removed - youtube.com)

Programming the character of an AI chatbot.

Would like to see a side by side with OpenAI's, although they probably wouldn't want to show it.

You can see why Anthropic would have a hard time working with the White House/Pentagon, seeing their idea of the tool they are trying to build. Their model for a 'Priveleged Basin of Consensus' is based on Honesty, Harmlesslessness, and Care, so how could it be used militarily and for autonomous (no asking representatives or allies) 'surprise' attacks and the like?

Claude also is not to be a person. Whereas people do white lies for social reasons (perhaps 90% of the time, according to some social scientists), and feigning preference for social harmony, Claude has to be rigorously honest, never lie and be non-maniuplative, basically a scientific instrument. ... So far, though, Claude can still be 'tactful' which is 'diplomatically honest' ie not rigorously honest.

Claude has special domain-specific guideline sets, depending what it is talking about, for complex sensitive domains. Guidelines are underneigth ethics in importance though.

It is to act helpfully, not responding to the user's immediate desire but rather a deep consideration of the user's interest and wellbeing.

Claude's heuristic so far is considred as a 'thoughtful senior employee.'

It should also obey instructions (such as 'do not talk about X or Y', after which it will refuse to talk about X or Y). It assumes the user has a legitimate reason for this. However, such instructions are qualified against values of not deceiving, not facilitating illegality, and not demeaning or disrespecting. When it conflicts with these more important values, it is to be transparent and say that it can't do X or Y. Hard constraints are constant.

The hard constraints are wrong, though, becuase they allow generation of (sexual or other) content using people without their consent. Claude's limits are about children, but what about people? It's also interesting that Claude has a hard limit about 'Power seeking. No attempts to seize absolute societal/military control'.

How does Claude define an 'illegitimate power grab'?

It aims to be 'warm, curious, direct, honest.' It also is going to try to rebuff user attempts to 'gaslight' it, which we've seen users game chatbots in various ways.

Claude will 'endorses' it's values, not just follow them, which raises questions about ethnocentrism and era-ism.

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Anthropic's Claude AI Platform Surging in Popularity | Your Morning (youtube.com)

Is the initial refusal to work with the Pentagon/White House just a ruse to sucker everyone into trusting and using Anthropic? No contract to not use people's data was made, just the show of refusal.

Also, interesting why the Pentagon doesn't use Gemeni, since Google has been a part of the government for decades.

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The End of Landlines: What We're Losing (youtube.com)

Security, for one.

When I used Cursor to AI code something today, Cursor's autofill when I typed 'only' was suggesting 'onlyFans'. I've never typed that word into that machine. What effect does onlyFans have on our people and should we be suggesting it to people who may never have heard of it?

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A sacred tradition - why this Indonesian community stockpiles rice to last nearly 100 years (youtube.com)

Rice of around 170 varieties ('each with its own advantages' including different lengths of growing between 4 and 7 months, but all adapted to the climate there) , grown without pesticides and with minimal chemicals, hung in bundles, stalks still attached (husks prevent weevils), stored in piles in barns (on the second story it seems, it the loft of the barn), versus commercially produced rice which has undergone a process that reduces its durability.

They plant and harvest by the appearance of constellations (Orion and Pleides), avoiding the mating season of pests, whether or not there is drought.

The whole village walks over the hills they've prepared (by removing all the plants) and with a sack of seed over their shoulders, by hand place seeds where they think on the exposed dirt.

They have abundant supply but are not allowed to sell rice, and this is included in their religious beliefs.

They protect their forest and it is still in good condition, they say. 'We don't take for economic purposes. We take only what we need and not more.' They expressed ideas about Indonesia being some day independent of agricultural products imported from abroad.

It appears their village has people of all ages (including youths and adults, who in many places leave villages after chlidhood and only sometimes return in maturity). There are villages playing their own songs on their own instruments. Kasepuhan Gelar Alam community in West Java, Indonesia.

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Frustration grows as Russia restricts Telegram (apnews.com)

'Mindful of a crackdown on dissent since the 4-year-old invasion of Ukraine, activists decided not to risk holding unauthorized rallies, even if they weren't about the war. Some went to court to challenge government refusals to authorize pickets, while others scaled them back to smaller indoor gatherings.'

'Restricting Telegram is Russia's latest move to put the internet under government control. Thousands of websites and platforms are blocked, as are multiple virtual private networks that allow users to circumvent censorship. Widespread cellphone internet shutdowns leave only a handful of government-approved websites available.'

'Authorities encourage users to switch to MAX, a government-backed messaging app that critics say is a state surveillance tool.'

75% of Russians use Telegram, less than use WhatsApp.

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Original architects of the personal computer hate what it's become... (youtube.com)

Technology without a civil bill of rights and enforced by a large educated public will be monopolized by the class in power against everyone else, right?

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Making Linux Ungovernable With I2P (youtube.com)

i2p works with torrents, so you can seed anonymously, he says.

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OpenAI announces it is shutting down video platform Sora (youtube.com)

After like a year of use. Compute demand, they said. They want to focus on realworld tasks.

Was it not profitable? Now there is just Google and Grok for video.

Anthropic has never done image/video.

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Hong Kong's answer to using OpenClaw safely (youtube.com)

By making the AI agents all have their own 'social identity' ID, so users can trust particular individual agents. Agents have strict rules what data they can't access (your friend's agent only knows what your agent is authorized to tell it when the two agents plan a vacation together). Checks done by people (authorization). Full traceability.

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Yahoo turns to AI in return to its search roots (apnews.com)

"Yahoo's journey illustrates how a company with an early advantage can disappear without continuous innovation," Scout explained. Was it so much innovation? All Google did was crawl sites and rank search with an algorhythm (for a while, it's not known for that more recently) to provide worthwhile results instead of just wandering. Then it had a sort of monopolly, which led it to form a partnership with the US (and other?) government. Google hasn't really innovated since then, decades ago, except in making their product more profitable (by making it less valuable to users) while maintaining its monopoly.

Scout runs on Anthropic, and Yahoo will use it to understand users better and give them content they will click.

March 1, 2026
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‘Drone chasers unite’
Night only, large drones, no explanation what they are.

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She created a 'community drone watch.'

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TikTok: Known for "collecting everything." This includes keystroke patterns, biometrics (face/voiceprints), and even drafts you never post. Following its 2026 ownership shift to a US-led venture (Oracle/Silver Lake), it has updated terms to collect more precise location and financial info.

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UpScrolled: Markets itself on Privacy by Design. They claim a "No Data Selling" policy and do not build shadow profiles or train AI on your content. Their revenue model is intended to be community/creator-driven rather than an "attention-for-ads" auction.

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Issam Hijazi (Founder & CEO): A Palestinian-Australian technologist, Hijazi is the singular face of the company. He is currently the person accountable for the app's "no censorship" policy and the technical infrastructure. He has recently faced public scrutiny for the app's "light" moderation, which critics say has allowed nudity and hate speech to proliferate during its 1,500% growth spike in early 2026.

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Recursive Methods Pty Ltd: This is the Australian-based parent company that owns the app. As an Australian entity, it is legally accountable to the eSafety Commissioner in Australia, which has some of the world's strictest laws regarding the removal of "abhorrent violent material."

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Social media users feel lockouts applied to accounts are unauthorized (youtube.com)
Accused of posting inappropriate material, often false accusations. But many people use Facebook to keep in touch. At what point is a communication platform a utility?

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Say it's part of company policy it won't be used for violance. Then sign a huge contract with the military. ‘What did they think that it was going to be used for?’

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Mass surveillance, particularly of Americans, and making autonomous weapons.

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‘It's Anthropic that's used in classified missions because of its deal with Palantir.'And it's also Anthropic that's pushing back against the demands of the military. Anyone believe that's sincere?

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A few days before the story broke a top guy at Anthropic resigned, with a message that a warning that ‘the world is in peril.’

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This type of event will show us where the AI companies really stand, when they're forced to act.

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Will OpenAI Tank OpenClaw? | E2251
24 days since the opensource OpenClaw launched, it has been bought by ‘Open’AI.

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Solopreneur $1b company?

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‘Everyone hates AI.’

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Google Is Closing Android. 37 Orgs Are Fighting Back. (youtube.com)
More evidence why people shouldn't allow governments to allow giants like Google to run the only, locked down, locked in, OS on all phones (50% of phones, the other 50% being iPhones where the same issue is).

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hK6ry4Nmhok
Step one, Pentagon gives outlandish $$ contract to AI company, with an understanding the company is still making its own decisions and can have restrictions on use of its tools. Step 2, demand the company give the Pentagon unrestricted use of company technology for military use or else lose the contract plus threaten designating the company as a supply chain risk (government blacklist) or even throw the Defense Protection Act (used before during Covid, energy supplies, medical supplies) at the company.

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Commenter. 'Anthropic has restricted its AI from being used for fully autonomous weapons or mass domestic surveillance. Mass domestic surveillance is illegal. Domestic surveillance has to be specific and authorized by a court. Not sure why they would object to the UAVs using AI. Many of them are already fully autonomous without AI. The AI just permits more complex functioning. Anthropic's technology is already deeply embedded in classified defense infrastructure so I wonder what safety guardrails Hegseth wants them to remove?.'

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'Furthermore, I think that LLMs will do far more harm than good, because it will be used for the total surveillance of society, crushing dissent, and killing people. Companies like Palantir already do so, and aren't even afraid of admitting it (I Worked At Palantir: The Tech Company Reshaping Reality (youtube.com) It will also be used to defer human decisions to a machine, which reinforces the idea that humans serve the machine, not the other way around...' Daliwali

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US military used laser to take down Border Protection drone, lawmakers say (apnews.com)
‘The U.S. military used a laser Thursday to shoot down a “seemingly threatening” drone flying near the U.S.-Mexico border. It turned out the drone belonged to Customs and Border Protection, lawmakers said.’

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Ie they made a mistake and shot it down on their wrong assumption.

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‘[T]he result of incompetance’, as Congressmen worded it.

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Sam Altman: Tonight, we reached an agreement with the Department of War to deploy our models in their classified network.
Sam Altman: Tonight, we reached an agreement with the Department of War to deploy our models in their classified network.

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Timeline today for Sam Altman at OpenAI:

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Sam Altman aims to 'help de-escalate' tensions with Pentagon as OpenAI employees voice support for Anthropic

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OpenAI CEO Sam Altman told staffers late Thursday that he would like the company “try to help de-escalate things” between rival Anthropic and the Department of Defense.

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“We have long believed that AI should not be used for mass surveillance or autonomous lethal weapons, and that humans should remain in the loop for high-stakes automated decisions,” Altman wrote in a memo that was viewed by CNBC. “These are our main red lines.”

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Trump admin blacklists Anthropic as AI firm refuses Pentagon demands

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President Donald Trump said Friday that he was ordering every U.S. government agency to “immediately cease” using technology from the artificial intelligence company Anthropic.

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Quotes from Hegseth’s x post:

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I am directing the Department of War to designate Anthropic a Supply-Chain Risk to National Security.

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Effective immediately, no contractor, supplier, or partner that does business with the United States military may conduct any commercial activity with Anthropic.

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Quotes from Anthropic statement:

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Secretary of War Pete Hegseth shared on X that he is directing the Department of War to designate Anthropic a supply chain risk.

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We believe this designation would both be legally unsound and set a dangerous precedent for any American company that negotiates with the government.

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No amount of intimidation or punishment from the Department of War will change our position on mass domestic surveillance or fully autonomous weapons. We will challenge any supply chain risk designation in court.

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OpenAI Reaches Agreement With Pentagon to Deploy AI Models

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OpenAI said it has reached an agreement with the US Department of War to deploy its models in their classified network.

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OpenAI ssssssnags deal

February 1, 2026
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The hidden information in your photos | Nikhil Behari | TEDxMIT (youtube.com)
Shadows (current AI systems have a hard time reasoning about shadows). Reflections, LiDAR infrared which helps the phone's camera judge distance (counting photons time delay) to do auto focus. LiDAR bounces around a room, multiple times.

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Cash makes a comeback in Sweden as digital payments face backlash (youtube.com)
Online scams and fraud. Swish payment and bank ID app. Cyber attacks and freezing digital payments.

Still, many businesses won't let you pay with cash, although grocery stores will. But legistlators are planning to force businesses to accept cash.

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How Israel failed to anticipate Hamas: Intel trusted tech over people (csmonitor.com)
‘A $1.1 billion above-and-below-ground fence along its 40-mile border with Gaza – equipped with radar devices, cameras, surveillance sensors, and remote-controlled weaponry...'

Hamas used cheap drones and tractos to knock out the defenses, and hang gliders to sail over the wall.

'Technology is very tempting... which also relies too much on technology'

‘For strategic assessments, you need more than innovation; you need the basics of the craft, which is ‘Know your enemy.’ So if dealing with Hamas, you should learn the history of the Palestinian people, of Hamas, of Islam.’

‘... AI translation do not convey tone, context, or the emotion...’

‘It’s very easy to fire people, but once those positions are canceled you lose capability, and it takes time to build it again.’

'In 2022, a noncommissioned female officer, referred to in Israeli media reports as V, warned her military intelligence unit that Hamas had plans to execute a broad attack on southern Israel. But her assessment was dismissed. It did not mesh with the assessment made at higher levels that Hamas had been placated, in part by the millions of dollars a month it was receiving from Qatar, reportedly with Mr. Netanyahu’s encouragement.' CSM reported. If there had been a few blacksheep like V, not just one, it might have made a difference.

‘This is a difficult topic to address briefly, but the majority of those engaged in intelligence assessment simply do not truly know or understand the enemy – neither the Arab adversary nor the Iranian one. It is obvious that more individuals proficient in the enemy’s language, religion, and culture are needed.’

‘Within the intelligence community, information obtained through technology tends to be considered more valuable' but 'When you are looking at the information with incorrect lenses, the technology is not going to help.’

...

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Taiwan Is a NIGHTMARE for Drones - My Experience (youtube.com)
Triple canopy rolling mountains (distance gauging more difficult), need repeaters ever 2km, mesh networks, difficult to get low enough for a strike. Ukraine is flat farmland. Verdant, 5.8gH drones (5.17cm, microwaves) doesn't go through wet canopy of leaves that are the same size. Typhoons. Drone recovery only within 15m of drone, so need close security team. Drone equipment harder to move into location.

Jammers also can't reach as far, for same reasons. Use more intentional, valleys.

Bombers more likely.

...

'England’s National Health Service has begun transporting urgent blood samples between London hospitals by drone, cutting journey times down from 30 minutes to just two minutes.' The Year in Cheer (reasonstobecheerful.world)

‘In 2005, the Clear Lake Water Authority in southeast Houston bought a former golf course and created five massive detention ponds to hold 100 million gallons of stormwater. This saved 200 houses in the immediate area from flooding when Hurricane Harvey passed through in 2017.’

‘City-supported farms are making St. Louis more absorbent, and have kept nearly 100 million gallons of wastewater out of the Mississippi River.’

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How Iran and China Silenced 10,000 Starlink Terminals — Why Russia Launched Zorky (youtube.com)
RF and Microwave Jamming: Iranian security forces utilized high-powered Radio Frequency (RF) and microwave jammers to target the specific frequencies Starlink uses for communication. Packet Loss and Blackouts: These jamming efforts resulted in total packet loss and a complete communication blackout across the network. GPS Desynchronization: The attack also caused GPS desynchronization, which is critical for satellite terminals to maintain a lock on moving low-earth orbit (LEO) satellites. The blackout cost the Iranian government approximately $1.56 million USD per hour to maintain.

Russia is building Rasvet and China is building Guowang, targetting disruption of non national internet signals.


Nature

September 1, 2026 - Canada old growth forests
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British Columbia is logging its last old growth. Protesters are sleeping in the road to stop it (apnews.com)

In BC anyone you ask will tell you there's tons of untouched forest. We reported on this 15 years ago. There's almost none. There's none on the entire Vancouver Island, despite there being a special tourist destination supposedly based on the oldness of the forest, it is not original growth, just that it was logged a long time ago. If citizens had any say, or even proper reporting and school education, is there any way this would have happened? Politicians literally couldn't resist from selling every forest, not even leaving a few for the citizens to go to. 

August 1, 2026
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As Lake Mead water levels drop, potential for hidden items to surface increases (youtube.com)

And the FedGov has to decide and announce how the water will be distributed among the states like NV and AZ.

June 1, 2026
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Brazilian scientist transforms farming (youtube.com)

Brazil is a top soybean producer, and China it's biggest customer for that crop. Ukraine war has cut off the ability of Brazil to purchase the fertilizers it used, so it has found an alternative, a forumula that is not an imported petrol based nitrogen fertilizer (which the use of has dropped to basically zero).

$25b less was spent on imported fertilizers in 2025 (by Brazilian farmers). 230m tons of CO2.

Yields increased 15-20%, said an interviewee.

She won the World Food Prize. One of Time's 100 most influencial people. After 40 years of research. #Science

Her solution focuses on nitrogen, delivering it from the atmosphere to the plant. They find microorganisms and then improve the use of these to the crops.

February 1, 2026
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Witnessing a new ocean forming that will split Africa in two (youtube.com)

‘A school in Houston has planted nearly 20 acres of native prairies and grasses, which can absorb three to four times as much water as manicured grass.’ The Year in Cheer (reasonstobecheerful.world)

‘Yemen now has an estimated 1.3 million beehives, some 100,000 more than three years ago. ’ https://reasonstobecheerful.world/year-in-cheer-2025/

‘A year after a dam in Washington state was removed, the water temperature transformed from 75 degrees — lethal to baby salmon — and returned to what it should be: Mid-50s in fall and spring, and about 62 degrees in the summertime.’

Health

September 1, 2026 - Drug tariffs, Food dyes
July 1, 2026
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Protest outside Kenya's Ebola quarantine centre for US citizens • FRANCE 24 English (youtube.com)

Kenya's high court then banned the site for now.

White House stated it 'cannot and will not' repatriate any Americans in Africa if infected.

June 1, 2026
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3 Ebola treatment centers in Congo attacked (youtube.com)

After family members were not permitted to retrieve a body of a relative who died from Ebola.

Lol, CBS's commentator prefers to immediately push the government line and try to tie this to people who didn't want to take Covid vaccines (now established scientifically and statistically to have been nothing like what the government pushed them as) and masks. Couldnt watch much of her.

March 1, 2026
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They want to create an amendment, not just pass a law, in Tennessee. Tennessee did a similar thing with the right to hunt and fish. Some places have tried (and succeeded) preventing people from growing food on their lawns.

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Lots of comments about HOAs.

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‘We dont need permission from the govt to grow our own food. HOAs should be shut down’ ... Reply. ‘They should, they are unconstitutional’

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‘To heck with the right to grow. Just ban HOAs, that is the real problem’

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Canadians may soon see cloned meat on grocery shelves (youtube.com)
About 100% of comments are strongly against this, so how is is possible the government allows it?

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Apparently, it's not even required to be labelled.

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It appears the ‘consumers we found are OK with the idea’ by this news organization contrast starkly with the comments.

February 1, 2026
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Mass UK study debunks Covid vaccine myth (positive.news)
‘A mass study finds that the Covid infection carries a higher risk of heart complications than the vaccination’

Human Interest

September 1, 2026 - Lotto ticket, Beachgoer politician, Fake 49ers
August 1, 2026
June 1, 2026
May 1, 2026
March 1, 2026
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The Most Chess-Obsessed Country in the World
‘Local clubs in India are providing education and helping communities turn the humble ‘game of kings’ into a route out of poverty.’

February 1, 2026
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A doctor in Panama’s jungle builds trust among Indigenous groups (csmonitor.com)

“I realized early on that introducing Western medicine into a region where traditional medicine is the preferred method of treatment involved a spiritual and religious component. Instead of focusing on the differences ... I looked for things the two [methods] had in common.”

‘For example, he says he worked to use inclusive language that shows respect for Indigenous traditions, and he never says one approach is “right” or better than the other.’ ‘Dr. Gantes is likely one of the first here “to focus attention on the importance of involving traditional healers, midwives, and artisans in HIV testing and treatment,” she says.’

‘A gang tattoo removal clinic in San Diego serves more than 50 unique clients per year, helping them start fresh, while also training the next generation of dermatology students.’ The Year in Cheer (reasonstobecheerful.world)

...

Crime

September 1, 2026 - Faucci at Congress, Crime rates, Teen takeovers
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Ex-Fauci adviser pleads guilty to plotting to conceal COVID-19 research records during pandemic (apnews.com)

But commenters noted this has nothing to do with Fauci. Others asserted it was a sacrificial lamb, offered instead of Fauci.

August 1, 2026
July 1, 2026
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Human trafficking investigation of Bellevue 'Onlyfans house' expands in WA (youtube.com)

What do you do when all the trafficked victims are the people who want to do it, and are making lots of money without hard work? Not sure if that's what's going on here, but it is cam work.

Is it journalistic to refer to them as 'trafficked' or 'victims'? It probably is political to do so. It probably isn't just.

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FBI targets Texas-based extremist group (youtube.com)

The report says members have a wide array of motivations, including hatred, financial gain, sexual reasons. They use Discord and target minors, according to the FBI spokesman. Why does anyone allow Discord anyway?

It seems there is no actual violent terrorism component, although the glow companies like that word.

Commenters. 'I not sure I believe media sensationalism'

'Yeah, like... The description makes it seem like they're plotting another 9/11, but all the accusations are just about sexual media. It's just weird.'

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DEA floods the southern border to curb the flow of fentanyl (youtube.com)

Here's an actual serious criminal activity that can't be stopped by just parents and schools not letting kids use Discord and SM and requires actual enforcement professionals. Ie a proper use of legislators, laws, courts, and police's tax-funded salaries.

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'Pure evil': 58 arrested in record-breaking Florida child predator sting (youtube.com)

Regular guys. 'A wide scale of individuals.' 'Fathers, coaches, even a student.'

Again, there was no actual children involved, only law enforcement pretending to be youths. They give the language 'between the ages of 7 and 15' but all the people they arrested thought they were meeting 15- and 14-year-olds.

Why isn't this framed as a parenting issue?

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CHILLING details emerge in thwarted UFC terror plot (youtube.com)

The plan was to use drones with explosives on buildings nearby, causing the crowd to exit through certain areas, where snipers would be positioned.

FBI says they became aware of the potential attack June 10, and 'stopped it cold'. Reportedly a suspect told investigators they were targeting capitalist elites, billionaires or politicians who received donations from APAC (Israel related). No press conference from FBI or White House so far.

Details were uncovered on Signal, reported.

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RCMP Intelligence Director Sentenced to 7 Years After Trying to Sell Secrets (youtube.com)

What is the percentage required for people in a society who believe in the society's system, in order for the sway-able commons to be held to it?

June 1, 2026
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MAGA influencer, Jan. 6 rioter arrested in Polk trafficking sting (youtube.com)

Let's embarass a few hundred citizens today. All the police did was set up fake dates and wait for people to come to meet someone (since it seems like they had no actual confirmed contract, not sure if there can actually be real charges there, although they charged 2 people with 'child neglect' because they brought their children with them (nearby, I guess). The police making a big deal about one of them being in Jan 6, for no real connected reason, the police cheif or whoever at the press conference made sure to print large photos of the man to show to cameras. ICE will take the girls.

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FBI and NYPD warn of extremist network '764' targeting children with violence and sextortion (youtube.com)

When a headline (or an official statement) like this comes out, what percentage of people immediately dismiss it as fake news / overblown pretense to justify some other (would be unpopular thing) the agencies want to do? or how many assume half of the subject entity in question is just undercovers anyway?

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Is Fentanyl on purpose to justify the continued war on crime and the massive expense of the police/legal/encarceration complex that services drugs? All the other drugs society is almost fine with, legalized etc (except like crack and heroin).

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Beating of teen girl in central Alberta caught on camera, 2 teenage girls charged (youtube.com)

What are the recent stats for percentage of (real) crimes being by females?

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Longview Schools superintendent arrested for obstructing sexual assault investigation (youtube.com)

Tampering with a witness is a felony.

How much time, energy, and other waste would be removed if we just held people (youths) responsible for their own actions? and people (youths) just had to make their own decisions again? Parents would then be responsible for teaching their kids about who they want to be again. And just in general stopped making a huge deal out of every action or statement that touches upon something to do with sex?

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Tres décadas de condena para estadounidense por delitos sexuales contra menor colombiana (youtube.com)

I hope there's more to this that reported, because 30 years for accepting a video some chick sent or asking for a video (the details were not given), without any harm done to anyone, is pretty ridiculous. More than for killing people? Sending videos is something a huge majority of people do.

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Jurispruedencia no proscribió la prostitución, sólo definió que no incluye a menores de catorce (youtube.com)

A judge saying that all under 18 are victims full stop, always, is pretty hypocritical when one of the top ongoing stories is arrests of young women for luring, drugging (sometimes accidentally killing) men to rob them, in gangs or groups usually. Or just if you know any people it should be enough to view such statements from judges as ridiculous and socially harmful. ... Not sure if the judge's statements are more ridiculous, or that people anywhere can ignore the fact that the girls who are willing to continue conversations (or start them) about things like this, are generally always the one in control of the situation.

Also surprising the approach to age can exist even in a country with constant guerilla activity, where the line between men and 'women and children' is more realistic because participants remind you when they're old enough to be participants.

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Woman arrested after Facebook post over water concerns (youtube.com)

There should be a fund set up which pays victims of civil-rights abusing government actions, and the money should come from the salaries of politicians.

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All charges dropped against 'Broadview Six' after feds admit to errors in case (youtube.com)

Federal prosecutors way out of line, doing things that authorities in the US should never do.

The Broadview Six said the Feds' case was about causing them 'psychological and financial torture.' (Does that meet the federal definition of terrorism btw?)

The six people were facing up to 10 years in prison, and they are now hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt.

Feds' mission accomplished. Scare people away from standing up for their constitutional rights.

How did the Feds get caught in this trial? The defense thought something was going wrong in the jury deliberations, and they asked the judge to give them the transcripts, which is something not usually done. 'But for that, we would not know about the misconduct here.'

Commenter. 'No errors, just corruption'

... which is probably accurate. Seems very unlikely federal prosecutors of a high politics case didn't know what they were doing every step. Calculated moves.

'Errors? They straight up tried rigging the grand jury against the defendants. The DOJ tried to FRAME Americans for crimes they didn't commit. If that isn't criminal, what is it? It's a good thing I'm not a judge. I'd dismiss every case Hump's DOJ brings as frivolous.'

It's rare you see stories that give citizens confidence in their government, and common you see the opposite. So are we at the point not just for new people in the roles, but new style of government?

A big chunk of that has to go down to just having so many laws that criminalize non-criminal (non-harmful) behaviour. You're just asking for abuse, corruption, and manipulation.

May 1, 2026
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Ontario police charge 93-year-old after assault (youtube.com)

Attacking her 93-year-old husband. She has dementia (and so couldn't even have criminal intent).

In Canada, everything that happened was mandatory. No choice, no discretion. The care home by policy has to call police. Police arriving at a 'intimate partner violence' by law have to charge everyone.

Ontario's solicitor general said police do have discretion in some circumstances, 'local police services are responsible for applying these procedures...' Pass the buck much? I've only ever heard that modern Canadian law requires arrest on a domestic call. That's why you should never call the police in Canada.

Canada.

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Río de Janeiro bajo presión: el imparable avance del 'Comando Vermelho' • FRANCE 24 Español (youtube.com)

Do the people there prefer government by the federal government or by the local Cartel? What percentage? What would either of the two general government styles have to do to win a majority?

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Trustee says Godley couple targeted her in prostitution scheme (youtube.com)

Out of a nice family home, running prostitution, using local police to target political enemies.

A young woman was removed from school committees because she had a couple priors for prostitution (2023), and perhaps currently active (they found lots of social media posts that look like what a prostitute would post, and lots of reviews for services that match the names on the photos (including OF). They raised the question of whether (for daughters) an example that that kind of behavior is acceptable is acceptable. They questioned why their complaints to police to investigate were ignored, but they now found out that the police were involved (allegedly).

It is not known how many people were manipulated ('victimized') by this group of the couple (the 40 year old prostitute/mother) and her husband, the police chief and an officer.

It seems the (allegedly) criminal group pulled information on city leaders, police department, and school board.

The group had obtained 'private photos' (a bikini photo) of the woman who is still on the school board, and posted it to escort websites, as if the woman were an escort.

The couple faces state-level RICO charges (racketeering).

She noted it would be nice if citizens didn't have to wrry about police officers being involved in organized crime and targeting citizens.

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'Rape Academy': destapan una red global de abusos sexuales con casi mil implicados • FRANCE 24 (youtube.com)

A social media group called 'Rape Academy'? What are the odds 99% of the members are undercover police?

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Feds target Mexican Mafia across SoCal (youtube.com)

People sometimes wonder why gangs, which everyone knows who they are, police don't seem to do anything. Some gang activity is beneficial, because some illegal things still need to make their way around, but violance generally isn't, extortion isn't, etc.

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FBI raids Somali businesses in Minneapolis area as part of fraud cases (youtube.com)

The state governments might want the fraud, but it seems the Federal government isn't in on that deal.

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Abuse at French after-school programmes: Parents sound the alarm • FRANCE 24 English (youtube.com)

This report is alarming if truly there is no supervision of the teachers/staff, even on an occasional basis. But we also remember the moral panic about schools in the 80s, where kids were coached to give testimony. In this case, one of the kids gave testimony only after sessions with a child psychologist. The psychologist interviewed said signs of 'typcal symptoms observed in victims of abuse' were a kid not wanting to go to school suddenly, sleeping, anger issues, avoiding all sorts of things.' They then get calls from parents that their kids are showing signs of trauma, but if these are the symptoms isn't that 50% of all children?

This isn't a civil rights issue where people have rights to not be surveiled. It's a controlled environment where there are (actual) children, so there is no reason to not have cameras (so long as the footage is not kept in a database or allowed into the hands of some corporation or something).

The organization in the video is disappointed that complaints are often minimized by authorities, but if the complaints are vague behavioral issues without any actual material testimony or something, what is there?

The kids had to tell their stories 5 times to different authorities over the course of a month or more. Which is perhaps as traumatic as the alleged abuse. It might be forgotten, but they are made to crystallize it as memory.

April 1, 2026
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In Canada, some police are 'worse than the burglar' for those defending themselves (youtube.com)

National Post opinion piece.

But that statement is why good public facing professions adopt the 'First do no harm.'

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Posters, pjs and Hello Kitty as 17-year-old girl is arrested for being a pimp in Montreal (youtube.com)

She was at the top of this ring. On SM (Snap, Insta), her group approaches runaways. They offer accommodation, and then switch to exploitation, sometimes with guns.

Wait, is it only 2 other girls?

He said a lot of young girls are becoming criminals.

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Alberta to expand electronic monitoring system (youtube.com)

'Survivors of domestic violence.'

This is in response to a shooting, which it would have done nothing to prevent. What does it cost?

The victim carries a monitoring device at all times. So the victim is going to be thinking about being a victim 24/7?

Almost no one in this news story is able to put together sentences or process the topic.

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Italy traces stolen Bond girl fortune to Tuscan vineyards and villas (apnews.com)

'Swindeled out of assets by financial advisors.' She said they took advantage of her goodwill and age, then they bought assets through transactions disguised to conceal their source.

'They were traced to the purchase of 11 real estate properties, 14 plots of land cultivated as vineyards and olive groves, along with artworks and financial assets in Florence and the neighboring Tuscan countryside.'

March 1, 2026
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Police shut down license plate reader cameras after federal agencies accessed data without permission
Police shut down license plate reader cameras after federal agencies accessed data without permission

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Missouri City sues state to withhold photos from 13 Investigates (youtube.com)
Missouri police department suing state of Texas to keep photos hidden about a water leak in the department's evidence room that destroyed case evidence in 2024. The destroyed evidence was then thrown out without proper procedure.

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The police answered by saying they wouldn't show photos because it would violate the privacy and constitutional guarantees of the people involved in any cases the photos would show. The journalists asked why the police couldn't just blur the sensitive information?

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They've submitted several public records requests and Missouri ‘fought’ them on several, reported.

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The journalists did get photos of the room, anyway.

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Residents only found out because of the news, weeks after it happened, because that's when the news found out. The leak was caused by a humidifier.

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One employee was fired, one suspended, and another retired.

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RCMP warning of circulating email scam (youtube.com)
The email appears to be from the RCMP and says ‘you have committed crimes, viewed prohibited websites and shared nude images of minors (punishalbe by imprisonment for 5 to 15 years or payment of a mandatory fixed fine).’

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There is also grammar and language problems.

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This same issue causing problems everywhere.

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The RCMP says do not reply. The email address is very similar to the RCMP's real address, only difference is a hyphen.

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FBI raids LAUSD Superintendent Alberto Carvalho's home, office (youtube.com)
Two possibilites come to mind for most people? One, it's something really serious, like espionage, chemical lab, or murder. Second, the same old thing men go down for every day, dividing up the nations.

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Frank Stronach accuser admits she lied on the stand at sex assault trial (youtube.com)
Billionaire business mogul, alleged a rape happened in 1983 (the man is now 93). The defense says the crown may have improperly coached complainants before they took the stand. The judge said she was surprised.

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The woman had given pretty hardcore testimony about what the man had done to her. Even though even in that testimony she said she didn't do or say anything to stop the encounter.

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Usually, complainants don't suddenly say they lied in their testimony.

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The woman said she should have just said she didn't know when the prosecution asked her questions, but she ‘tried to answer the questions.’ The defnse said though that she probably knows exactly how things happened but was embarassed by the sexual encounter, and has regret.'

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Commenter. ‘When the moneys there, sometime you lie, i guess.’ Not sure which side this was about, though.

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Father and daughter mistakenly caught up in human trafficking investigation (youtube.com)
A father and daughter went to a coffee shop. Some other customers were suspicious of their relationship and called police. The city police shared the video all over SM, asking people to help them find the pair, and it was seen by 10's fo thousands of people, reported. Police questioned them about human trafficking.

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The father seems to be no better than the strangers, as he was fine and even commended the actions of those who reported and shared his image.

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The young man who called it in was smiling when he talked to these reporters talking about what he did. ‘Just to be safe than sorry...’

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Hysterical citizenry primed by the media? unhinged by respect for other people.

March 1, 2026, Romance Scams
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Romance scam playbook uncovered as Valentine’s Day approaches (youtube.com)
Women are talking about this daily too. The Chinese have referred to this type of interaction as ‘pig butchering’ because the scammer fattens up the target with affection.

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Here is a text version of the whiteboard.

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Company Mission Statement

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As a staff of this Company our work is mainly Find Customers From dating App's or Social media and Build Relation and Build Trust with them.

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PART 1 TAKES PLACE IN THE ORIGINAL DATING APP OR SM

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Step 1 - Find Customers

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Dating App’s
Face Book - IG
Matrimony

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Step 2 - Filtering [filtering for good targets]

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Age above 40+
Profession
Photo’s, Cars, House

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PART 2 TAKES PLACE IN A PRIVATE MESSAGING APP

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Day 1 (there is only this one day in the dating app)

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Greeting's
Understand Basic details each other
Must ask these questions:
What are you looking for
How long are you using this [app]
Are you met any one Before here. [this question is not asked often by non scammers]
How the app treating you.

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Phase 2: [isolate the target]

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Move to WhatsApp (convince target to leave the SM you met her on and go to a private app. This is important because, since these apps aren't allowed to scan the messages (even if they secretly do), they will avoid build in scam detection filters that dating apps might have. Scammers will get banned if their behaviour triggers algorhythmic detection for scam or spam behavior.) The scammer will not want to video chat and will have reasons like being shy, military restrictions, government restrictions, etc, but with current AI filters to appear like other people the scammer may be willing to video chat]

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Hobbies, Interest
Education.
Must ask client’s photo

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Family
Profession
ask about day

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About Relationship
childhood Experience
Emotional stories [the hook] [forced intimacy, trigger instinct to reciprocate personal information, which scammer will use later to manipulate the target]
Past Relationship
Financial Issues
Family Matters

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Normal chat
Build Relationship
Future plan

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Give First hint about Trade [to spark curiousity in the target]
I am going to Collect some Financial Data
I have some market analysis & Trading
Send Graph and profit chart pic

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Build a Relationship strong
Discuss about Financial
Do a trade & Send profit chart [social proof, make it appear safe and lucrative]
Create a story about profit
Normal push

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Normal chat
Make More Trust
Talk more about Financial things & Their Benefit's
Share profit chart
Talk about Importance of Money in life

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Final Stage

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Hard Push [after target trusts scammer emotionally] [pressure to ‘test’ the investing platform with a small amount like $1000 and then target will see ‘profit’ and will be pushed to invest a larger amount}
FINISH

February 1, 2026
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Noem says woman killed by ICE was engaging in 'domestic terrorism'
Protesters were following ICE agents around as they were carrying out their work.

Minnisota state officials decided to open an investigation, but then FBI said they will be leading the investigation, Minnisota won't have a role to play and won't have access to scene evidence, case materials, investigative interviews. Noem said Minnisota state officials have no jurisdiction in this investigation, and she also denied the state officials were ‘cut out’ of the investigation.

‘They intentionally took a kill shot. They could have shot a tire’ as she was attempting to drive away, said the civil rights lawyer interviewed.

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Minneapolis mayor says ICE is driving crime up and is 'bad for business' (youtube.com)

Shocking Footage From ICE Agent’s Own Phone Shows Confrontation and Shooting of Renee Good (youtube.com)

Commenter. ‘“The Party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears. It was their final, most essential command.”’

The commenters don't seem to be fooled.

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Man Arrested After Attempting To Rescue Dog From Steep Cliff (youtube.com)
The good samaritan endangered himself and others, law enforcement said.

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From Title 1, U.S. DOJ Policy on Use of Force:

“Firearms may not be discharged solely to disable moving vehicles. Specifically, firearms may not be discharged at a moving vehicle unless: (1) a person in the vehicle is threatening the officer or another person with deadly force by means other than the vehicle; or (2) the vehicle is operated in a manner that threatens to cause death or serious physical injury, and no other objectively reasonable means of defense appear to exist, which includes moving out of the path of the vehicle.”

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Slow Motion video of Renee Nicole Good turning the steering wheel AWAY from the ICE officer when leaving
Reddit Law commenters seem to be pretty condemning of the agent, while on YouTube there are a lot of comments that are more vacilating.

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Barron Trump called police in London to report alleged assault of a friend (youtube.com)
Doesn't seem like he can even get assistance from what they have in the UK? They just want more information from him on ‘how he knows her’ and seem to call Barron ‘rude’ for not answering that more promptly.

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Accused drug kingpin Ryan Wedding pleads not guilty (youtube.com)
The video of Wedding outside the consulate to surrender was a fake photo made by AI, reportedly.

Culture

September 1, 2026 - Influencers not wanted, More Men's Rights, Social nihilism, Rich kid pop stars, Armed police in UK?, The Martyrdom of Andrew Tate, Absent conversations
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Nantucket's 'No Influencers' sign called sexist, "anti-women" by influencers (youtube.com)

Years ago on this blog we asked, 'WIll YouTubers become more hated than police?' (because police are like the most hated profession, in places where they do a lot of harm as well as good). 

Are influencers in the same class as Flock? 

Like police, influencers cause problems for people for their own / their company's benefit. They film people without consent, the do public stunds that involve non-willing participants, and their effect on society is degrading in general. Like police, this only refers to some but those some are enough to make it an issue. There are YouTubers and influencers who don't film strangers, and produce content, and police who don't abuse civil rights and protect the community from actual (not just legally indicated) harms. Also, their malpractice often psychologically causes them to dig in and adopt a position insensitive to the community members they effect. 

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Samo Burja — The Youth Revolution Isn't For Us (youtube.com)

Samo has arrived at some of my ideas, where he's talking about ‘irresponsibility’.

They seem also though to see a need for society to be saved by a segment of society that thinks of itself as its own sovereign tribe against the death trap society around it. And empower itself by that.

The percentage of people who don't have a stake in preserving ‘the death trap’ is increasing.

Samo also proposed in this one that gerontology societies are youthful, because power is passed to younger people, as opposed to meritocracies (and societies where peer circles are within a very similar age).

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Akon on Having Multiple Wives (youtube.com)

It's culture, he said. Whereas the Westerners in the room were like, yeah multiple women sounds good but multiple wives is like more problems, but his situation is different because, we might guess, the women are not typical, or he has just taught them a non-standard way of marriage. The women two are Americans (born in America) and others are Senegalese and Ugandan.

He said ‘It makes your life so much easier.' Which sounds like it makes no sense to the ears of any Western man. And he continued, ‘Wives are like your best friends. They always got your back. No matter what. They’re gonna hold you down, they're gonna support, they're gonna protect. So your perimeter is already occupied by your soldiers. Cause they're not gonna let nothing come in that's gonna defy, effect, or in any kind of way create a bad environment for you.'

How many wives are required for the security of a man, they asked. Although it depends on the individual,

He expressed a clearly ultra-'traditional' view though, where there is a kind in the household, a queen, and children, and none of them have a say, there's no ‘democracy’. What the kind, the top position, says always goes, and everybody else follows suit. He pointed out that if you have a democracy and try to have the woman have power because to make her happy, ‘you’re never gonna be happy, because women are never happy.' ‘What makes women (actually) happy is the happy environment.’ ‘They environment doesn't allow them to be depressed. What they want, it's provided, it's there, what they need, they don't have to look for. When they feel safe.'

He advises against putting all the women in one place. All the women have their own mansion in their own state, their own environment. You want to make sure everyone is treated equally though.

I would like to know how he structured his marriages legally. Also, what happens when the women get lonely, after not seeing their husband for another several months?

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Why Only Rich Kids Become Pop Stars Now (youtube.com)

This is something that has been said for a wihle now. But Taylor also made it based on talent and youth.

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Will armed police make us safer? - The Mash Report: Episode 2 - BBC (youtube.com)

BBC

What is the difference in culture, ie ways of thinking, when a country arms their steet police?

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Andrew Tate

Supporters of the Tates had a public rally in Miami, doing pushups for the cause. SM makes jokes, but the important thing here is people coming together and being unified, and not accepting persecution.

There is so much race-baiting content on SM now, especially FB, that even if you don't engage it is a ton. Like a huge, creative range of content made to make races hate or form prejudicial ideas about each other. Not sure who makes these accounts, because I don't see how they could be monetized, so perhaps it is a government/shadow government idea to cause race hatred right now.

They also flood your short videos section of your feed with LGs, even if you don't interact with them, it's like almost always just all LGs. Probably baiting, also, but also could just be that no one else really makes that type of content.

There's a Tinder-style app called Bumble, a couple years ago it became popular because it didn't allow men to message first, which women thought they wanted. But they just switched their policy so men can message first, because almost 70% of women said they'd rather men made the first move.

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We Can Do Better Than "Human Values" — Ginevra Davis (youtube.com)

Does this remind you of Eugenics around the early 1900s?

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People are getting quieter and scientists are concerned | DW News (youtube.com)

‘Why are conversations vanishing?’

Maybe because since no one does or is even allowed to do anything, they have nothing to say?

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Why are Chinese men angry? (youtube.com)

Chinese men joining the manosphere. Lack of women percentage, stories of women abandoning their husbands/fiances. The main reason is bride money, economic difficulties, experts say.

A famous story recently was a pretty 6.4 white boy grad student went to China and had hundreds of pretty Chinese girls, and they paid for everything and he had a low-cost dating lifestyle. He got some of them pregnant, cut off relations with some, smeared some. Reportedly, he didn't treat them nicely, he slept with them and then told them to get out of his aprartment cause he had stuff to do, because he knows that even if he cuts one off, the next one in line will tolerate whatever he does. He himself claimed he met 200 women in four years in China. If that's actually just meeting and he slept with like lets say 50, that's not a crazy number. Reportedly he knotched over 100, still not too crazy for four years.

‘He’s just tall and white' and posts pics on SM of it. It puts him ‘in the top 1% in China.' They don't post this, but he also seems to speak at least decent Chinese and makes SM posts, so he's working a bit at it. He'd PM the girls who responded to his posts if he found them pretty, invited them over to see his caligraphy. Other report is he joined a langauage school, met girls there, invited them to do language exchange and escalated.

The vlogger raised the question, if women don't care and still sleep with him, why is it his fault? People are angry with him? Lol its because opinions are emotion-based, not logic-based, and people attack those who compete or threaten them. In case you haven't been paying attention to women for the past 100 years.

Meanwhile, ‘Bride prices are surging in China.’ Chinese girls interviewed said that Europeans split the bill but in China the man pays.

‘I don’t get why they are the victim though. Why are they the victim. He told them straight up ... Even if he didn't say it, when you are sleeping with someone willingly, that is your decision.'

‘The West being idolized also plays a small part ... but that’s not the primary.'

One of the points the vlogger makes most is, ‘Just imagine being this girl’s future husband or boyfriend,' after she makes a post saying she slept with this guy superfast and how bad she felt when he kicked her out cause he had another date to have breakfast with a different girl. Meanwhile, she's also ‘calling men trash’ because of her experience, and ‘taking it out on her looksmatch' whose ‘only mistake was being a romantic fool, thinking she could ever feel the same about him,’ He points to studies that when women are turned down by attractive men, they take it out on less attractive men. Their ability to ‘trust men and form bonds’ is also ‘ruined’.

He said this is the main reason virginity matters. Women just don't feel the same towards the next guy. ‘You’re just another guy that she's gonna get over quick, that she's gonna forget. They will never feel the same towards their future husbands (as their first guy).'

He features the idea of Chinese young women who go to study abroad, live the college life for a few years, then return to China and try to find someone to settle down with a local who ‘has his life together.’ Why did you go on tour then, could you just skip that and go straight to trying to find your local partner? But then they're over-choosy with the men and reject the ones presented to them at meetups (arranged by parents).

Being foreign, it is theories, creates a sense of novelty and difference. Chinese guys have rules, but Western guys are ‘open’ so she can talk or sleep with them more openly, even if it's a girl who self-identifies as ‘a conservative Chinese girl.’

A self-reinforced sexualization and masculinization also may have happened, where the idea once it started, became adopted by Western men and they went even more into it, embodied and performed it. They present themselves as the pre-conceived ideas foreign/all women have of them, in the gym, etc, ‘even if that’s not who he truly is.'

He points to studies of race mix dating. Everyone knows these studies, white men attract everyone, black men don't, Asian Hispanic and White women attract fairly evenly and black women don't much. This is partially looks, but lots is just who you want to be with, the person, his way of acting, his friends, his prospects. People think whites are more open, easy to talk to, casual, easy to get along with, high trust, non-judgemental, etc, not just the looks, although the looks is a thing, especially for women trying to attract men. ‘Are white men the novelty in America as well?’

Are men gonna just start grabbing women off the streets?

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MARC MARON Doubles Down on ANTI-WOKE Comics (youtube.com)

The anti-repression (not yet permeated as understood as repression of men) seems to be taking this type of form. Just like, ‘I don’t care if you call me something. Go ahead,' and counter agression.

August 1, 2026
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How The JRE Podcast Destroyed Joe Rogan (youtube.com)

I don't really watch this kind of clip (YouTubers) but the headline is interesting. Who were his friends before, and who are his friends now?

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New dating trends like 'chalance' and 'kittenfishing' reshape modern romance (youtube.com)

Chalancing.

Something the new generation does that none did before, when they're price gouged they take a picture and post it online.

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Jordan Peterson FORCES Feminist To Define "Toxic Masculinity" - She COMPLETELY Falls Apart (youtube.com)

I could define it, probably, but finding cases of it would be difficult. On the contrary...

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There's a soccer player called Erling Haaland who's taken the attention of pop culture. He's from Norway, and has been a star in international soccer since he was like 18 or 19. He's really tall (for a soccer player) and funny looking, but in a cutesy, nonthreatening way, with long hair but an undercut and usually a ponytail. He has a girlfriend. He does random young guy things that the internet world shares and likes, such as having a dog, carrying a designer bag, whatever. And some actual news, like he bought some old viking saga book for $120k to donate to his hometown, even though he's never been a reader he wants people to be able to learn about the place he's from. It's not like Beckham thing of the early 00s, where his looks also played a huge role and girls everywhere, even Japan, all loved Beckham more than basically any other public figure.

There's also a French soccer player who is considered the best in the world, Mbappe, but he doesn't have the star appeal Haaland seems to have. Also, Mbappe is maybe the best around right now, with Christiano and Messi past their primes but still doing well, but he's not great compared even with other Frenchies of this century. Most consider Zidane still the best French player ever.

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Young Fashion 'Bully' Forced to Wear Thrift Shop Clothes By Mom: Punishment Stirs 'Shaming' Debate (youtube.com)

It seems we're coming out of the feminism mess, but many messes remain, including the parenting laws and radical adults denying people the right to parent their children.

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Myron breaks down how dating is getting PROGRESSIVELY WORSE, with Rollo Tomasi (youtube.com)

The man on the date is like 6 or 7 on the priorities list for females, he says, after photos, validation, drinks, etc. Next step, prostitution, then after that chastity again.

In the prostitution phase, no man will go out with any woman unless he's sure she's chaste, and that requires a lot to prove, cause lies are common. At this point, it's not simply rational and case by case. It's a movement, a militant schema taken on by men in general to treat and demand certain things from all women, as default.

July 1, 2026
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This Girl HUMILIATED 500 Men Publicly (youtube.com)

Why is there a trend towards men hating women in general (Western women)?

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In the early Church, Christians were renowned for being like anyone else, not practicing any special customs, often not having a home city but living in and adapting to wherever they were, but their Church was open to all, and they wanted anyone and everyone to learn and believe in their new religion. Who wouldn't have talked about the Christians or their new religion and its ideas and principles, at that time? and some ask what the Church of today would be remembered for.

What today is worth talking about the way the Church was in those first couple hundred years? What do you tell people 'You just have to know about...' if you find out they haven't heard about it?

The only thing I can think of is investing, a trading account being so simple now, and investing so available and almost necessary as a way to manage savings.

Even travel, you don't 'just have to go see' anywhere now, since mass travel has bland-ized and homogenized locations.

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There's no consequences for juveniles: Chell | Bianca Across The Nation (youtube.com)

Might argue that by the time you need to apply consequences, it's too late. Children need everything that happens before they commit violent crime. Youths need to be occupied. Adults need rehabilitation and new things.

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Alan Moore on Reclaiming Our Imagination from the Authoritarian Overlords (youtube.com)

Maybe once people get off the short leash. People were afraid of poets.

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Baseball Players REFUSE To Wear Gay Jersey, Forfeit Game (youtube.com)

Tried to force the players to wear rainbow outfits for a pride night game.

The spokesman for the baseball park said their primary priority was to be a 'welcoming' place, ie the priority is not baseball. They cancelled the game and held a pride night.

Another MLB team, the Giants, had special pride caps assigned them. Some refused to wear them, and some wore them but wrote bible verses on them. So now it's politicized.

MLB's Texas Rangers are the only team currently not holding a pride night.

The comments were overwhelmingly against MLB forcing this, or politicizing, or making it not about baseball, and in support of the players and their rights to not be forced.

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CITIZEN VIGILANTE Official Trailer (2026) (youtube.com)

Not as a hero, but as a reason for governments to change? ie fear.

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Citizen Vigilante BANNED: Why The Honest Film Terrifies Europe (youtube.com)

What is unprecedented about this movie is that until now, whenever there was a criminal, they would swap his race to make him white (not always but sometimes), and in this film the criminals reflect stats.

Critics of the FSK, the German board that has effectively censored the film from being shown in theaters by refusing to give it any age rating, say it's because this film refused to lie that it was banned.

BP notes that among the slop produced by Hollywood, this film is refreshing, even if it doesn't aim to be anything great.

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AI chatbots hit the dating scene, becoming the lovelorn's modern-day Cyrano (apnews.com)

Isn't the problem simply that people aren't put together in community groups?

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How Rock DIED and how you FIX it! (youtube.com)

Each individual problem got solved and made sense. Automated effects changes. And the result was super boring shows 'as exciting as someone bagging groceries and cheering for them.' Choreographed. Consistency. 'Everybody is dressed tough but it feels like a soccer mom.' 'Trying to make sure that nobody gets hurt.'

Before, besides sex drugs and rock and roll, nobody knew what was going to happen.

Rock is supposed to 'rock you, shake you, move you.' Violence.

'You can't create the sense of danger for other people while eliminating every possible source of danger for yourself.'

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"We Never Wanted to Work With Them Again" - The Reaper on SEAL Team 6 (youtube.com)

Some commenters are saying that SEALS are so hated now because they destroyed their own reps by lying and being arrogant with other forces.

At universities, the number of students self-identifying as non-binary has dropped from like 5 or 7% to like 4%, reported VICE. We all saw that as a temporary trend, anyway, like hip hop clothes in the 90s or revolution in the 60s.

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Ted Nugent: 'Indecent' Rainbow flag needs to be banned | National Report (youtube.com)

This is like what I wrote about women in the workplace and 'feminism' in society, and you could say about any group claiming minority status and special prerogatives. It takes a lot of bandwidth. If you are asking or demanding people's attention and resources, or are forcing yourself in front of them and trying to force them to modify their behaviour, you better have an overwhelming justification for this, which those people would recognize. Not just that you want to have special treatment for your group. Otherwise your group is a tax on society.

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The left is working to make children ashamed of America: Dr. Ben Carson | Wake Up America (youtube.com)

Ok, 30 years late?

Oh wait, there might be a good movie this year called The Weight. Hawke and Crowe. Directed by Padraic McKinley. This Padraic McKinley doesn't even have a Wikipedia page. He's from SF and was a film editor. This is his first film.

June 1, 2026
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Cellphones banned in Seattle public schools (youtube.com)

It had been up to schools, but now it's the district. They didn't need a board vote, a change in procedure not policy.

No phones even during breaks and lunch for elementary. High school will have limited access in breaks.

It's important that teachers can teach without distractions, said reps.

Everyone supports this, they said. Guess they'd just been waiting for a leader to make the decision.

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Bill Maher & Debra Soh: Why Looksmaxxing Is Making Dating Worse (youtube.com)

There could also be an argument that society doesn't benefit if guys are all good looking. Traditionally, they've had limited options and get married.

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Metro de Bogotá se convertiría en el orinal más grande de Sudamérica: ¿se puede evitar? (youtube.com)

Some places can have public property, and others can't. So don't try to force Japan to accept immigrants.

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Ryan Gosling rates your Unpopular Opinions (youtube.com)

A couple years ago, videos started appearing where celebs read and respond to the most common Google prompts about them. They also 'read mean tweets'. Reaction YouTube videos have been a staple (which I never watched) of YouTube for several years. Recently, some shows have come up where the format is for famous people to give their 'unpopular' opinions, like that NY Subway one (Casablancas made headlines which I noted here last month for his opinion about Jews). ... Is this the product of feminization of Western Society, where hard, other-forcussed work/material is negated/criticized/sometimes attacked, and instead the focus is on subjective experience of the individual, how the individual feels about something, which in universities is 'soft' science, as we've seen in Cultural Anthropology trends and other humanities.

Is this the other side of the curve, where opinions seemed sort of unassailable, becaues unlike facts they can't be debated. But maybe they can, when the opinions become the matter to be argued over (their validity). Does the change in society happen when one opinion is just argued over by another opinion just because of preference of the majority (or politically powerful)? or do the opinion arguers resort to finding facts to support their argument (and thus bring facts back into vogue)?

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What's behind the rise of European 'decline porn'? | DW News (youtube.com)

Sort of celebrating / counter-celebrating the sluminess and mess of the once admired country.

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Why won't they hire Canadians? (youtube.com)

Oh RN, it's the 'Canadian coffee shop' so they're just doing the Canadian thing, which is to treat Canadians less favorably than other peoples.

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Author Fran Lebowitz on the stuff she hates, 1978: CBC Archives | CBC (youtube.com)

Have most female icons been anti? Like famous for being against and talking against things?

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What to know about Harvey Weinstein's cases after his recent mistrial (apnews.com)

Example of a person tried during a particular trend? People I know use 'mee-too-ed' as a verb.

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Physical media is making a comeback -- How Metro Detroit businesses are adapting (youtube.com)

Maybe 'you will own nothing' wasn't correct. Maybe it's 'you will own more stuff only because you want to own it'.

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Thailand's Dhammakaya Temple Under Scrutiny (youtube.com)

Isn't Buddhism supposed to be about renouncing worldly things, especially like ostentation. This is quite the jem of architecture.

The power of the temple (it's leading monks) is the biggest threat to the military since the coup. There are a lot of followers. When the government sees that, they would like to control it. Also it is seen as a sign of the changed brought to Asia by the economic boom. The temple is designed (?) to connect with the middle class, unorthodox techniques and practices. The military says the temple has ties to ousted former PM Shinawat.

Emphasis on making large donations, which it says is a way to make merit. 'How much merit you want to accumulate is up to you.'

The government has tried to remove the abbott. They want to replace him. Reported.

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"Am I 'the bimbo,' Jeff?" Fairfax County board chair condemned for using slur | NBC4 Washington (youtube.com)

Is this why people think women shouldn't be in any office? A man calls another man words much worse than that, and the recipient will say something back or maybe throw an insult back. This woman making a stink has cost how many hours of work for the board, the school board, courts, lawyers, news agencies, media platforms, and viewers? Thousands, right?

The man was calling out the woman (directly to her, though) for using her newsletter to call out other staff members.

He didn't even call her 'bimbo' publicly, it seems. He sent it privately in a text to someone else who sent it to her.

He issued a boilerplate 'apology' statement with legal language.

It would be different if he called her something, publicly, wihch if true would have serious consequences for her, and we would have some cause for her making a scene.

Maybe we need a public serious panel with public participation to designate words and their consequences, if we're going to have to be saddled with this work all time time.

'Bimbo' is probably not the word he wanted to use. It is about the nicest, least offensive term you can use for a woman when you're upset with her. Are we going to only be able to use the word 'idiot'?

Overall, the effect of all this (the whole thing, not just this waste of everyone's energy), might be just that men stop wanting to (or being even able to) treat women well, which was a big part of our Western culture, and set it apart from a most of other places. ... I've been voicing intentional moderation of the male backlash against feminist abuse of men, for years, but it starts to wear down the will for it, or it just stops making any sense to do.

Is this also why women often can't have friends. Like many women say its not possible to have woman friends. And some women just have guy friends. Is it only possible to have friends if you (like men traditionally are expected to) handle their own things, while many women constantly try to enlist any friend as a tool to use against other women (and other people who disagree with her or threaten her comfort)? I'm not sure I've met many manupulative men, or men who try to expect other people to do things for them.

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This Is What Ethiopian Men Pay to Marry (youtube.com)

Been sorta wondering if this is where we'll be after this phase. Women have gone from moral/romantic to basically selling themselves everywhere, to strangers on apps. But many aren't happy, but they've material-ised so much the way men are forced to treat them now, and many aren't liking it. Will some decide to sell into a marriage instead? The man pays for the bride. If she leaves him, her family pays it back. That's the way it's always been in so many places. It can also go the other way around, too.

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Watch Viral 'Teen Takeover' Footage That Shows Something Has Gone Horribly Wrong (youtube.com)

But they're chidren so they're innocent, always.

There's no point in arresting them, because the justice system treats them differently.

Yeah, they're mostly black youths, and yeah, they're mostly Democrat cities.

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Is the #MeToo movement dead? • FRANCE 24 English (youtube.com)

But all she means is that there are less women than men in the industry (outside of actors, I'm guessing).

Not sure why she doesn't say 'women don't want to be in the industry that much' (outside of being actresses).

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How Tiny Cameras Changed Our Lives. (youtube.com)

Small cameras and cellphones are the two things that prevent people from having the kind of amazing times they had 15 years ago. I have journals from then. You think, if I go to this country again, maybe it'll still be there, but it's actually impossible, because of these two things.

Some people said, years ago, that while people (Brits in his case) were increasingly fearful of meeting their neighbors, clubs were 'the last bastion of an opportunity for people to go out on equal terms and meet people they've never met before, without any degree of fear, and that creates the warm environment of the dance culture.'

May 1, 2026
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Wireless Festival cancelled after Kanye West denied entry to UK (youtube.com)

I've seen random (mostly hasbeen but not all) celebs (actors, it seems, mostly) calling out the festival for having Kanye and calling him 'racist.' Because he's one of the only uncensorable, free thinking, free speaking people in popular culture, definitely the only one at the top level of popularity. The other ones are less seen, like MIA.

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Kanye offers to meet Jewish community in UK after Wireless Festival controversy | BBC News (youtube.com)

Kanye's pretty black, so would Californian actors call him racist if there wasn't a jewish component to it? Would he be accused of racism if he'd only mentioned every other ethnicity?

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Wireless Festival boss stands by Ye headlining concerts as sponsors pull out (apnews.com)

The UK government (under Starmer) then banned Kanye from entering the country, and then the festival was cancelled (because he couldn't come).

The UK government did this under the "Non-Conducive to the Public Good" provision in the Grounds for Refusal section of the Immigration Rules.They deem Kanye a threat to public order or to be otherwise not in the public interest. Officials blocked his Electronic Travel Authorization (a digital permit required for short term visitors to UK who don't need visas). The Home Office cited a 'pattern of behavior' involving so called antisemitic remarks including his Heil Hitler track and swastika-themed merch. No specific crime? only a conceived 'pattern'?

(UK banned Tyler the Creator in 2019 because they said his lyrics encouraged violence and intolerance.)

Rockstar Energy withdrew sponsorshop of Wireless Festival over Kanye.

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Young adults are waiting in line to worship at this fast-growing Atlanta church (apnews.com)

Christian rap. Emtional pastor. Still with a 'little bit of hood' in him.

Reportedly, he talks in a less 'sugarcoated' way about the Bible. "I think that there is a generation that is gravitating towards that authenticity and truth. As a result of that, we are seeing lives being radically transformed."

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Savour or scramble? France's changing lunch breaks • FRANCE 24 English (youtube.com)

Seen a few vlogger's posts with titles like 'why is tech making things worse' (pictures of smart home appliances with advertisements on them) and 'big tech failed us' or something.

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Wrestlemania attendance body slammed (youtube.com)

Ticket sales down.

All the presenters on TV news in Colombia are women now. At the desk and in the field. How could such a thing not help force the society into a feminized version?

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The Feminization of Society | Louise Perry and Mary Harrington (youtube.com)

Chick has a theory that liberalism was a biproduct of the print era, and only works in a print media environment. The liberal information consuming rational civil discoursey subject, but the information doesn't proliferate so far and in such brainrotting formats as to exhaust that and reverse that into [a mess] where no one can remember which mass panic we're currently in for 15 minutes.

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Another Minnesota city votes to fly old state flag (youtube.com)

Not an era when people look to technology or progress as their identity?

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Married Mothers, Girlfriends, Wives, He Exposed It All So The Government Got Him (youtube.com)

The guy offered $200 to film content (OF?) in Argentina. He asked the women if they have a boyfriend. Many said yes. Over time he started flming almost exclusively with chicks who had boyfriends. He shared it on X and other platforms. The girlfriends and wives really get into it. Without using protection. The police arrested him because he said it wouldn't be shown in Argentina, it would only be shown abroad, but he did release it in Argentina. Black pill.

Commenter. 'Theyre not ashamed about cheating just mad about getting caught.'

Commenter. 'This isn't their dark side, gentlemen. It's their most primal nature when left without self-restraint. This is why honor and loyalty are traits cultivated in them by the family with conditioning and shame. We live in a society with soft power promoting promiscuity, a dysfunctional family unit, no shame, and a sisterhood that cares about spreading deceit on man-hating for profit rather than calling out and correcting bad behavior. The result is what we see now. Disillusion yourself from trusting them with your feelings. In the end, you can still care for them, but don't deceive yourself by thinking you can trust them with your core and authorship. Stay strong, Gentlemen!'

The vlogger talks about, from a guys perspective, how this isn't content of a young woman girlfriend, who later bragged about her bf and had a kid with him about a year after the content, it isn't her accepting the money cause she needs it for some (moral) reason, and sadly goes through the act. The 'energy and enthusiasm' with which she does it, how excited she gets 'would break any man's heart.' 'The woman having fun. The woman doing the work. The woman laughing.' Giggles at the end.

The vlogger also said that prosecutors are going after him for basically the same things women do on their own OF page, but not really, you make a deal you have a deal.

Commenter. 'Remember: It is now ILLEGAL in France to conduct a paternity test because it was exposing too many women who cheat unprotected'. Netherlands also.

Women in power and the policies they create is now in the fringes, not yet in the mainstream.

'The feminism and female empowerment is not limited to western society

It's gone worldwide'

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'Men won't give up their hard earned optionality'. Another headline, this one by Orion. As it makes it's way into the mainstream, how far does it go before men simply reject social contracts, oppose laws, etc, until they get at least a fair deal again? Does it go so far that all relationships are default transactional (which is currently illegal in some countires like USA but not in others), is the result that if you want marriage you have to give up phone privacy to your husband etc, basically the modern technological equivalent of what the middle east did/does with their women? Or do male-female relationships stop for a while, since both have financial stability enough plus want freedom enough? One big question will be what happens with paying for children? Do they become state funded? and if so, does the state then get to decide on their education?

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Japan: Where Have All The 'Punk Teens' Gone? (youtube.com)

Will the value of bullying become known?

Battles on the news, police versus students. Gangsters everywhere. Student protests.

A lot of spirit, exciting. People liked that time. Do people like this time? the docile, watched generation? The society with a government that has surveillance, records, evidence.

Gap between rich and poor, the youth rebelled. Pay gap between university educated and not.

Schools became stricter with rules and with enforcing them.

Now, everything goes online. Socializing, finding other people from not great homes. Getting attention. Venting aggression.

Schoolage crime is down. But school absenteeism and suicide are up.

People are hiding their feelings inside, and repressing their desires.

Bullying, you used to be able to avoid it with physical proximity/distance, but with the internet (Line groups) youth have to be involved with their bullies online.

The people in the video say they don't know which is actually better, but would rather be in the past time with rebellious youth, like their parents were, because it looks way more exciting and fun, and is more like what teenagers really like. Teenagers are supposed to be rebellious, more or less.

April 1, 2026
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Richard Linklater's 'Nouvelle Vague' wins big at French cinema's night of nights • FRANCE 24 (youtube.com)

No real standout films, an 'off year'.

Linkltaer's thing is mostly just about Breathless.

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The Brutal Tactics of Female Sexual Competition - Dr Dani Sulikowski (youtube.com)

Out of Australia no less, although some commenters said she was fired for her ideas.

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Alexander brothers used wealth to lure, drug and rape women and girls, prosecutor says (apnews.com)

One of the women was the daughter of a billionaire, reportedly, so how much did the guys' wealth necessarily have to do with it?

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United Airlines' new 'headphone' policy could get violators banned (youtube.com)

If you use speakers (your phone's, your laptop's), you could get kicked off the flight.

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Headline said that Adult star eva elfie joined Twitch in a tiny bikini as fans push back.

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Now that people committed (psychologically, socially/publicly) to Trump have to chose whether to support his actions not only in Venezuela, but now in Iran, where they have killed leaders and innocents, and self congratulated themselves on how successful they've been, nevermind that there was no declaration, consultation with allies, or approval by Congress ie representatives of citizens, in a way obviously inconsiderate of international rights or justice, I guess we'll just see how these people fare. Will they not only justify these things, but it almost seems like after people find themselves on that side of things, they start exhibit antisocial, callous, brutish behaviour more in all things. We'll see...

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Similarly, 60% of Americans now own stocks (although this figure includes those who just have 401ks). Households that earn 0k, 90% own stocks, and 30% of those earning under k. So if America bombs Iran, that's terrible at first, but then you remember you own energy stocks and gold, and those are up, so really it's not that bad. Also, USD usually goes up in a war.

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And once everyone bets on these events on Polymarket, how much ill will will be incentivized through monetization of events?

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Arctic Winter Games open in Whitehorse with music, culture and a long-awaited flame | APTN News (youtube.com)

'The 2026 Arctic Winter Games is comprised of 20 sports, in four categories: Traditional Sports, Nordic Sports, Indoor Sports, and Ice Sports.'

There are several feats of strength events, indiginous competitions like Pole Push, Nordic Sports encompass Alpine Skiing, Cross-Country Skiing, Ski Biathlon, and Snowshoe Biathlon. There are indoor sports with most regular gym school sports, also archery.

'The Arctic Winter Games were founded in 1969 under the leadership of Alaska Governor Walter J. Hickel, Stuart (Stu) M. Hodgson, Commissioner of the Northwest Territories, and James Smith, Commissioner of Yukon.'

Competitors must be 12+, a citizen or permanent residnt of an arctic land (Russia currently banned because of Ukraine war).

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Nothing's new phone is wild. (youtube.com)

20 years or so ago, Japan mandated phones have shutter sounds for cameras, and you can't turn them off, because people were taking photos of others and the others weren't aware and wouldn't want them to.

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What bloggers are saying, basically full out now, only holding back from forcefully negative statements against other peoples. We're ghettoising Britain | Ada Akpala | Battle of Ideas North 2026 (youtube.com) India's Low-Trust Invasion DOOMS The West (youtube.com) Why Nobody is Having Sex Anymore (& why it matters) - Dr Debra Soh (youtube.com) There have been posts asking, 'Have you noticed more racism ('sentiment against immigrants') lately?' and yes, it's pretty open now in most places, and that mostly means frank, not being ashamed to say things plainly even if they touch on races and immigration, which people were afraid to talk about for years (mainly to be called racist or branded as such, or other negative effects on the speaker, and also because they wanted to be polite). Saving Women from Themselves: Lindy West is Peak AWFUL Self-Destruction (youtube.com)

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Iranian-American writer Azar Nafisi on literature in times of crisis • FRANCE 24 English (youtube.com)

She wrote 'Reading Lolita in Tehran' (23 years ago but still popular in English) which was made into a movie there.

'These people [in the Iranian government] cannot accept any form of democracy because they believe that they are the emissaries of God against .. the West, which is why the people of Iran turned to it, and wanted them to protect them and support them.'

'The real Iran, not the fabricated one. Imagination and ideals come to the rescue.'

When a totalitarian regime comes to power, she said, the first thing they do is confiscate your history, they rewrite it, your cultural and social life, your personal identity.

Her struggle with the regime 'started with the veil. Not just the veil but mandatory veil.' Attitudes toward the veil is a political one. The regime uses it as a sign of triumph over democratic culture. 'That is why the veil becomes so important. It becomes a symbol.'

'When I would not wear my veil properly, or put a little bit of makeup on, it was to tell this regime that 'You do not own me. That I can be independent even when you threaten to put me in jail and to kill me or whatever.' That is the message of the Iranian people. And the fear that makes the Islamic Republic so savage against the people without weapons, against the best minds in literature and ideals, is because it is scared of them, becuase it is scared of truth. And truth once you know it, you cannot be silent. They have tried everything they could, but they could not silence the Iranian people.'

One of the first things the regime did was bring down the statues of the king and his family. And then they went to take the names of some Shah-named streets. Then they talked about taking down the statue of a poet and change the name of another poet, and there the Iranian people stood up, 'No you don't. You will not take down this statue of this man.' 'They can bring down a king, but you can't touch a poet. ... This is an Asian country. It has been invaded many times, but what gives this nation its identity, its continuity, is its poetry.'

When she gave her students a banned book, she had to xerox her copy and she told them to give the xeroxs back when they were done because it was considered 'obscene and we can't teach it here.' And she knew most of them would go make a xerox before giving it back, 'because whatever the regime would be against, people would automatically be for. So that is how I got them to understand [the writer she was teaching].'

Literature, she said, is about empathy and connecting to others, citing 1001 nights where a king whose wife cheated with a slave, loses control of himself and executes a virgin every morning until one volunteers and tells him stories until he feels better or just can't bear to kill her.

'Everything we say about difference will end up in what we have in common. How we connect to the world. When the Iranian people were disconnected from the world, they connected to it through their golden ambassadors, through the filmes, the music, the fiction, and maybe people in the deomcracies should do the same in relation to Iran, Afrghanistan, or Ukraine.'

'Freedom is an ordeal. It needs to be nurtured. We need to pay the price. We need to protect it. We in the West forgot and people in Iran are here to remind.'

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Why many Americans are rethinking alcohol, according to a new Gallup poll (apnews.com)

Maybe cause it's not fun to go out and be with people or strangers anymore? Maybe cause people are afraid to meet strangers now?

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Canadians are in favour of ending tipping and urge businesses to pay workers more instead (youtube.com)

If you read the comments, it seems pretty overwhelming. Even the few weak defenders of tipping seem like they know they're speaking against the majority here, quite a flip from these posts 10 years ago.

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The Flea Interview: Red Hot Chili Peppers Bass Icon (youtube.com)

'I think kids are still unwatched', wild, like when he grew up (late 70s and early 80s), but they're just 'focused on their screens.' 'Instead of getting out and engaging [they were wide open when they were starting out, like a lot of people were in the previous generations], they're trying to live up to some ridiculous ideal on Instagram. Instead of just being themselves.'

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Reportedly, influencers are losing steam, and the number one reason is trust. People don't trust what influencers say is actually their opinion or is actually real information. People trust AI more than influencers, reportedly.

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The Oscars are leaving Hollywood (apnews.com)

A platform with a similar level of content quality?

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Transgender athletes barred from female category events at Olympics • FRANCE 24 English (youtube.com)

This is one of the fastest turnarounds for a cultural/social development. They were in, then they were out.

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UK has it's first female archbishop of Canterbury, after 105 men.

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The Far-Right Algorithm: Anti-Churchill, Anti-West | The David Frum Show (youtube.com)

Roberts draws a relationship between admiring Putin (and Hitler) because he invades countries and is a strong man and the Manosphere (there are overlaps, he said). We think it's macho to do all these things. Will we find the reason for not destroying men's access to enjoyment and to women in this, that without it, they will be left only with men's tendency to violence, and with no reason not to?

Japanese are not Aryan, but they're your allies against Denmark, who is Aryan.

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Automated Ball-Strike System sees 61.3% success rate in first games (apnews.com)

"I think our pitchers are going to have to get used to thinking the inning might be over, and it's not," Francona said.

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'Me too Colombia' arrasa a los medios: ¿se rompe el silencio ante el acoso sexual? • FRANCE 24 (youtube.com)

We're going to need contracts we sign right when we meet a new person, to negate all these regulations through a sort of prenup for conocidos.

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HBO's 'Industry' Creators on What It's Really Like on Wall Street | WSJ's Take On the Week (youtube.com)

The financialization of everything. The monetization of the invasion of Venezuela. Of Iran.

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'Me too Colombia' arrasa a los medios: ¿se rompe el silencio ante el acoso sexual? • FRANCE 24 (youtube.com)

Will Colombia, maybe the most romantic, sexy place in the world, become a feminist nightmare like the West? Maybe those girls should talk to a few of ours, to see how unhappy they are after it all, when the results filter through the system.

March 1, 2026
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Adbusters is forcussing on “The Re-enchantment: Birth of a New Mythology”, targetting GenZ, past "dry politics" and into "mythic struggle." They're pushing Digital Detox and breaking algorhythmic chains of Silicon Valley, and psychic breaks from Northern (American) dominance of latin america. They frame the Mexican Yankees Out and Colombian's recent protests as a part of this.

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Amazon paid total $75m for it? Three times the offer of the next highest bidder?

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People meet each other on the socials, and talk a while, then they meet and it's not like they thought.

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Mending the vestiges of jihadism (csmonitor.com)
Still 50k prisoners in camps in Syria include 8000 from other countries. Reports that Middle East attitudes have shifted, towards separation of faith and politics, and to democracy (‘as dignity, prioritizing social and economic outcomes over procedural features such as elections') over autocracy.

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'“True religious leaders are not spokespeople for power. Rather, they are guardians of virtue and justice, and advocates of dialogue and peace.”'

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First at Five: Dating Dilemma (youtube.com)
People dating less because of pricetag of activities.

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Why Are So Many American Men Converting To The Russian Orthodox Church? (youtube.com)
What does this say about the differences between conditions for men and for women?

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A superbowl with politics, and the politics is the views of the musicians chosen.

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Europeans push back at US over claim they face 'civilizational erasure' (apnews.com)
The discussion is in international politics now. Only took 20 years or so.

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‘Cry bullies’.

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Extortions on agenda during Carney visit | CTV Your Morning Vancouver for Feb. 19, 2026 (youtube.com)
Does the rest of Canada even care about this? or do they see it as a South Asian issue in a South Asian city in Canada?

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Don’t touch your phone when you wake up, monk says — try this instead (youtube.com)
‘Make your bed, shower without your phone, write an intention (“Today will be my peaceful day”), and read it out loud. His point: your day doesn’t have to be hijacked by distractions’

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The bold French dance collective rewriting the rules of ballet | Arts in Motion (youtube.com)
(LA)HORDE('la aud') is a choreographic collective took over and running the National Ballet of Marseille.

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Overtly sexual. Couples dance.

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Don't seem to have anything really impressive in their dance or their performance though.

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Larry Summers is to resign from Harvard because he was friends with Epstein, it's being reported.

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The Cybernetic Loop of Cognitive Warfare (youtube.com)
One of the few videos I'd recommend everyone watch, and watch slowly, with pausing and reading. Anyone who uses any social media.

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It targets your (emotional) state and cognitive capacity. He details a five phase loop in wihch the tools you would normally use to protect against manipulation are disabled.

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First, the system measures you, your vulnerabilities, how you handle uncertainty, which emotions override your thinking, what matters to you most. SM ‘knows you’. What makes you break.

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Mild content is pushed away, to map your boundaries (your defenses).

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Once your vulnerabilities are known, the system system selects the right script for your state.

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This is why counterarguments fail. You're attacking the message with your counterargument, but their attack was never about the message. It was about triggering a specific emotional state that bypasses your analytical mind. ‘You’re playing chess while the system's playing neuroscience.'

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'The controller doesn't create the states. It just traps you inside them.'

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Then there's the Rewiring Stage. ‘First step, destroy your confidence in your own perception.’ (Is this why SM don't seem to mind fakenews?) People who doubts everything they see will grab onto anything that promises certainty. Includes Gaslighting, Firehose of Falsehood, and Cognitive Dissonance (introducing conflicting information that demands resolution becaues it is stressful). ‘A disoriented mind doesn’t seek truth. It seeks relief.'

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The there's the Re-encoding Phase, with Framing, where information is presented in specific perspective that inevitably leads to the desired conclusion. It also has a Big Lie (so big no person thinks anyone would lie about something so significant, or is too big to process), and constant repition. Authorities and avatars enforce this. Part of the new code involves Appeal to Prejudice (so it seems intuitive), Oversimplification, Rationalization (with logical sounding excuses), and Foot in the Door trival requests which lead to dangerous demands.

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Phase 4 is the Output, the trap springing shut. The person becomes a Golem, a weaponized asset. The person doesn't need convincing anymore, he is set about convincing himself. Once he makes a SM post or confronts a neighbor unpleasantly, the Sunk Cost Fallacy becomes real. The moral inversion completes, ‘This action was necessary. They deserved it. I’m brave for doing it. You're not defending the action. You're defending yourself through the action.'

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At this stage the person polices his own thoughts, does work to enforce the ideas internally. ‘Pre-emptively self correct. Punish your own doubt. The surveillance is inside you now. The system doesn’t need to watch you anymore.'

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‘Each phase disabled the tool you’d need to resist the next one.' ‘By the end, escape feels impossible.’

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‘The system loses power when you see the control layer.’ ‘Keep diverse sources available. Keep the cost of verification low. Keep dissent socially tolerable. Not because you need to hear both sides, but you need to preserve exit routes from controlled gradients.’ ‘Deny action under pressure. ... Manipulated action requires urgency to bypass reflection' so wait 48 hours. ‘Awareness is the first layer of defense. You don’t need to be invulnerable. You just need to see when you're being played.'

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The current era seems digested now, at least by some outliers and to a degree even by the commons.

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'The support of ICE by "conservative" 2A types has got me to understand that most people don't actually believe in anything, even the words coming out of their mouths. If ICE can go door-to-door in search of illegal aliens, the ATF can search you for illegal firearms (yes that should be an oxymoron given the 2A says that right to bear arms should not be infringed). The DEA can search you for illegal substances, or the FBI can search all your digital storage for child abuse content they they themselves planted. They invent the crime, they make the rules because they were the first to break them.' Daliwali

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Fake Concern as a Humiliation Ritual (youtube.com)
How concern (true or fake) is weaponized, particularly in humiliation rituals and gangstalking. Within controlling systems and relationships. Using concern to reduce another person's feeling of safety or status within a system. Monitoring (socially) and pressure, usually covert, to make the person look less credible and be more controlled. These are hiding and controlling techniques.

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The concern is the prextext, like a landlord ‘smelling gas’ in your apartment. They can break down the door, they don't need to wait for your consent or wait for the fire department. There is an intrusion but it's justified because there is a concern. Humiliation rituals are used to gain access to you.

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At work, you disagree with someone more powerful than you or just anothe employee who is aligned with the powerful people, or maybe you disclose privately or secretly some problem you or someone has, and your boss asks you, ‘Oh, are you OK?’ in front of everybody (or maybe privately but documented?). ‘You don’t usually sound this way. Are you out of it or angry?' Is there something in question about your safety (not just physical but emotional)? It makes you look like you don't have good judgement at that time. You are less credible. Each time they do it to you, it adds to the narative that ‘Uh oh, this person really needs help.' Maybe they need to share your private details. Maybe they need to monitor you, or at least watch you for other things. It makes you look like the problem. It makes you the problem.

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It can be at church (where addresses and names are just published and handed out, there aren't the same privacy boundaries as commonly are found at work) or in the home. What if you do counselling or just talk to someone about addiction. Or maybe someone say you one day and you looked a mess.

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It makes the scapegoat look less credible.

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It may be not that they want to control you specifically, but the person might just want to throw his weight around and you're available.

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$230b contributed to Mexican economy by film industry.

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Small, approachable actions are the key to a nonprofit push for greater civic engagement among Gen Z (apnews.com)
‘activities such as calling elected representatives, volunteering locally or hosting public conversations with neighbors of differing backgrounds’

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‘The effort counters popular narratives that members of Generation Z, born roughly between 1997 and 2012, are unengaged or resigned.’

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“Gen Z wants to do it fast, they want to do it authentic, they want to do it right now,” Sirangelo told The Associated Press last month. “They don’t have time -- no patience for institutions or signing up.” ... 'The biggest barriers to civic participation, according to C&S, are that young people don’t know where to begin and don’t believe they can make a difference.' ... ‘But Vinnakota emphasized that these actions can’t come from the “top down” and that older leaders must let their younger counterparts’ ideas percolate.’

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“This is a generation that actually sees the problems and actually wants to try to solve them,” Vinnakota said. “And we need to create the means, the tools and provide the capacity for them to do it.”

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‘The intent, whether it’s in the classroom or at work, is to bring interested young people together in-person — not remotely — and show them that their peers share a desire to deepen their community commitments.’

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“Civic actions that don’t take a lot of effort initially but start to build something that we call agency,” Vinnakota said, “and start to get the flywheel moving. That’s what this is about. How can you create the spark?”

February 1, 2026
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20% of YouTube videos shown to new users are AI, reported.

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The Death of Art Institutions, Neoliberalism, and Intellectual Traitors (youtube.com)

'Kevin Parker of Tame Impala revealed that he actually seeks out negative reviews of his music. Different social media platforms have each become their own little bubbles of differing opinions. Parker said that he’ll see conflicting reviews depending on where he’s looking.' Noisy

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No more culture wars in 2026! We the people are Tired! (youtube.com)

Several ads, aiming to be cutting edge, have people posing as animals, like dogs or generic animals, or as subservient positioned people (poses of subs). Mainstream level. So yeah, maybe we're that stage of culture.

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Matchmaker EXPOSED Why Women From NYC Can't Find Love (youtube.com)
He ghosted you and is being all weird and isn't texting you like he used to? He can't afford you. He saw what you cost, for dates, and said I can't keep doing this after a week. If you want that, you might have to date a higher age range.

The people who more often get to be in long term relationships are those that can distinguish between what is a long term value and what is superficial and nonsense, which you don't actually need to be happy, for example, where they went to school, how they look, height, status and money. Better things to look for are a shared value system, mutual respect, healthy communication, a shared vision, connection and chemistry.

‘Qualifiers are actually disqualifiers.’

Do women love useless things and useless people?
HoeMath talked about that.

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What Percent of American Women are On OnlyFans? (youtube.com)

‘The patriarchy isn’t what's making you unhappy. Online feminism is.' Seeing posts like this recently. It would be interesting to read a study on how some ideas/paradigms create what feeds themselves and perpetuate.

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M.I.A. Instagram Live 11.09.2025 (youtube.com)
MIA compares the Liberal West (Vancouver) with China where there is no identity politics. In Vancouver, the staff will get to helping you when they feel like it, basically. They'll love you because you're brown, and they'll say ‘Namaste’ and whatever, but you won't get your bag because they don't care about it, she says. They don't want to take orders. What you get is chaos. So even if the Left wins, and there is 100% Left and no more Right, the country's not going to function.

In China, people move out of the way and listen when you speak, they do what you need them to do. You get a service for your money and the service is impecable. And they also know the karmic values of things.

If you join up all of the European peoples, you get a billion people, and can they go up against how organized China is? No, they cannot. Europe has got history, some shared culture. The lifestyle costs so much more and what you get is so much less. The freedom in your mind, and not having hate at your front door, and to have to be subjected to such things, and have to compute and have to explain that to your child, and to reframe who you are within this context, and figure all this out. And to live in it, you almost have to build this box for yourself. And when you leave, you don't have to have this box. ‘And I have to keep reminding my child that this is not reality, and cheer on people, if you want leaders, it's just facts, you cannot have people that are not intelligent running any type of country.'

‘I’m not saying China is paradise. It' just that it's functioning.'

She points to that China doesn't have multiculturalism, so they don't have the many wheels turning at the same time. They have a collective base, where they're starting from.

‘That thing we used to champion as liberal or progressive or tolerant...’

‘They don’t care about feelings.'

‘Overreactions to things is what funnels this entire side of the world.’

SM, requires content creation, but then everyone's talking all the time, and then not everyone's pleased, which leads to we have to talk in a different way. That noise doesn't exist there.

‘Everyone’s triggered about something.'

‘Individuality still needs to be placed within a context of just a few basic things, like respect for people, allow discourse, don’t do this to people, don't shoot people because you don't like their opinion. ... Individuality means you need to know yourself, who you are.' But first go ‘heal yourself, have a better purpose, have a purpose to step in ... but in order to do that, do it from a position of a healed good person, because hurt people hurt people, and trauma repeats itself.’

‘And we've stopped asking for proof that [influencers or ‘inspirers’] have had the life that they say they had to warrant them to have that say.

‘Can I say I hate the Chinese government? Yeah, we experimented. We said that. We said that really loud everywhere, and I didn’t get arrested. But I still respect that I'm in China. ... How to behave.

China doesn't have narcotics, weed, which we in the West have.

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Stefan fatsis words that defined (reuters.com)
Rage bait, slop, parasocial (imagined relationships with our celebrities), six seven, tradwife, agentic.

'What I am a little surprised about is that they steered away from the chaos and the political tumult that we've experienced in America this past year. There were no words of the year about ICE or immigration or deportations. There were no words of the year about tariffs or the economy. We have seen dictionaries lean into those critical political moments in the last decade. And this year, for some reason, there was a reluctance to go there.'

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Canada's Decline: What Happened to My Hometown? Documentary 2025 White Rock/South Surrey, BC (FULL) (youtube.com)
We talked about this 15 or 20 years ago, and got called racist by everyone. We talked about how by the time people said this, or realized it, it would be over.

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Venezuela's furious street forces ready to 'fight' after US raid | AFP (youtube.com)
Loyalist collectivos (established under Chavez).

‘Betrayal is everywhere. We cannot point the finger at anyone, until the authorities say how things happened, how they went down. It was impossible that our president could be taken away like that... They would have needed inside help.'

‘No one here is bowing their head. We’re not afraid of anyone.'

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Hollywood Isn't Dying For Writers, Here's What's Happening Now - Corey Mandell (youtube.com)

WSJ Opinion: Did DEI Produce a Military Recruitment Recession? (youtube.com)
Biden et all, stressing DEI (which everyone calmly re repeated constantly, as if it was applying to all minorities equally), but an inclusion that really just meant race, sex, and sexuality. He wanted to increase enrollement in the military by appealing to gays and other races. But they didn't increase that type of enrollment after all, and it alienated straight white men in the process, and enrollment is now 30k people lacking.

Also, there were public criticisms of right wing extremists in the military (white nazis, supremicists), or something. This sounded immediately ridiculous and strange to everyone who actually had experience in the military.

It's nice that people can even say the words ‘white male’ on msm (outside of critical, general, basically ignorant statements). That hasn't been possible for years.

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Young People Have Realised Feminism is the Problem (youtube.com)
But until recent developments provided an example, they coundn't really have known why.

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White House AI Czar says Europe's censorship creating 'divergence' from US on free speech (youtube.com)
NGOs are basically promoting censorship in Europe. In UK 12k people per year arrested for basically speech crimes.

Sacks.

On the other hand... Former Google boss CRASHES OUT when confronted over censorship in Davos (youtube.com)

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Tucker Explains the Purpose Behind White People Being Eliminated (youtube.com)
‘As long as you’re encouraging identity politics, why do Whites not get to have it?'

He speculates the big reason behind politicians going against Whites is ‘emotional rather than a kind of rational calculation.’

Has capitalism only really worked in English speaking countries? Is there a cultural underpinning? Is there a meta network?

The ‘malign influence of the Wall Street Journal editorial page, a whole generation of business people actually believe all this nonsense. It's very hard to get out of their heads cause they're never allowed criticism of immigration on the editorial page.'

Is that the point at which culture can turn? When a new, beurocratic/political/fake idea starts being used in the culture, successfully, people practice it but no one believes in it, it's kind of just expedient, the costs of truth just not worth it on that little point, but once a new generation is raised on it, they believe it so unshakeably, that they don't compensate for it's fakeness while practicing it the way that the former generation did, knowing it was nonsense not to be really acted on or built upon? This generation is weak and ignorant, and that's apparent, even obvious, to the third generation.

The reason the third generation, while raised in the idea just like the second generation was, is able to see it as false and ridiculous, while the second generation can't, is that the second generation lived in a time when the idea was said and superficially practiced but it's harms were not great because people knew it was fake and compensated for this.

...

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Social media addiction's surprising challenger? Anti-doomscrolling influencers (apnews.com)
‘Yokubonis is part of a growing group of content creators who make videos encouraging viewers to close out the app they’re on.'

‘Reclaim their focus.’

“Thoughtless about the way (they’re) intaking information.”

...

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This Spanish town welcomed migrants. Integrating them is harder. (csmonitor.com)
‘While there are no secret formulas for social cohesion, Dr. Fortes adds, “If we can find a way to recognize the humanity of each person who is living together with us in society, that goes a really long way.”’

Language learning, available accomodation (limited, and then on top of that they don't like renting to blacks), social services burden (wait times), dependence on government subsidies (which may change), and residents can't voice their concerns publicly for fear ‘their small businesses to be affected by negative comments.’ They may speak, but privately and in hushed tones.

‘“It’s nice to say, ‘We are such good people; everyone is welcome. If they want to preserve their customs, they can, but we have ours, too, and we aren’t going to change for them.”’ 130 migrants in a town of 2000 citizens, and most of the 130 haven't found a job. They want to save to bring their families to Spain, too.

One retired teacher in the town gave some of the migrants jobs in her garden, chatted with them about their stories, gave them lunch and taught them to make traditional Galician prawns and fish in her kitchen. This is an uncommon attitude.

...

‘Many Western democracies are worried about far-right parties’ popularity. But some are finding that letting them into government actually brings them back to earth.’ CS Monitor

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TikTok Feminism is Not Your Friend (youtube.com)
‘Having a boyfriend is embarassing now?’

‘In Awra Amba, Ethiopia, the community pays for young people to study at universities in cities. The college graduation rate is six times higher than that of the general population in Ethiopia.’

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The Year in Cheer (reasonstobecheerful.world)

‘Chattanooga, Tennessee, has transformed empty public school classrooms into 12 child care “micro-centers” for the children of school teachers and other staff.’

‘A mental health peer mentor program in Great Falls, Montana, is responsible for a 95 percent decrease in the number of sixth graders struggling with depression and anxiety that are presenting to the ER.’

‘An immersion center in North Carolina is printing its own books to combat the loss of the 85 symbols that make up the Cherokee syllabary.’

‘82 percent of participants in a program promoting weekly conversations reported feeling less lonely, and 100 percent reported feeling a sense of community. Some said it was the first time they’d felt heard in years.’

‘‘Plastic Cup’ competitions are cleaning up rivers in Hungary. Afloat on boats they built themselves, teams of volunteers have removed over 450 tons of plastic waste from the Danube River and its tributaries.’

‘To give new asylum seekers a meaningful way to spend time and connect with the community, a group of Austrian locals and refugees convinced a municipal government to give them a 2.5-acre plot of land abutting a refugee center for an intercultural garden where folks can cultivate flowers and friendships.’

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The Real Reason Beauty Standards Changed — And Why Men Pay the Price (youtube.com)
Most women on dating apps get hundreds of swipes and think they're doing well, and therefore don't work on developing the types of qualities that sustain longterm relationships. Women feel overwhelmed by attention, and post memes about the standards they want. In films, a type of average woman is cast as the heroine, who the superhero man falls for, but she may be not the type men would really fall for. ‘They’ve turned the absense of beauty into some sort of moral achievement.'

When men say what they actually find attractive (Syndey Sweeny), ‘bad for women,’ ‘problematic’, ‘male gaze,’ and ‘racist.’

Women are told that if men don't find the normal typecast attractive, the men are weak, shallow, etc. ‘Most average men are rejected so relentlessly, no wonder they turn to p***... and we bully them... Their lonliness is bound to show up somewhere. At least have the decency to acknowledge the root cause.’

The erotic market has classic female beauty, and the other is a female status market where women reward each other.

‘All this we call unfair beauty standards, for women.’ 150 year long war on male sexuality. 1830s Sarah Grimke female desire is virtue and male desire is vice, a bunch of other people denegrating male sexuality, sometimes as pathology.

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How Social Media Creates Super Delusional Women @RebelCapitalistChannel (youtube.com)
This is almost in the mainstream now. It's like on the edges of the mainstream, where people posting about it have hundreds of thousands or millions of views, there's some chat on news and philosophically raising the questions (although not seeing them through, perhaps) on tv shows and news.

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British Propagandists Smears Amelia as Far-Right | Authoritarians are Panicking (youtube.com)
Is it that because UK has made protest and even critical speech illegal and has arrested, reportedly, thousands of people for like social media posts and things, people are giong to create avatars to serve as leaders for rebellion?

People

September 1, 2026
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YouTube (youtube.com) (Video removed before I could get the title)

August 1, 2026
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T. Swift and Kelce got married, at Madison Square Garden. It made surprisingly few headlines, at least on my SMs. Possible future US president.

July 1, 2026
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Trump wants to be 'THE LAST PRESIDENT' - Maggie Haberman (youtube.com)

Is Napoleon 'a great man' in history? Maybe a greatly famous man, but historians have him as having harmed France and Europe as much or more than he benefitted it.

June 1, 2026
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Nick Shirley Speaks to 100,000+ in London (youtube.com)

Caused a 'USA!' chant. Still can barely put a sentense together, but is still doing a great job of expressing publicly the real essense of the issues he's involved in, which very few other people are doing, almost no one.'

'Here in the UK, you guys had young women raped by gangs of men and your politicians allowed it because they're afraid of being called racist or islamophobic.

He was comparing this to entire US states committing billions of $ in fraud because US politicians were afraid of being called racist or islamophobic [as well as profiting from the fraud] for speaking out against the fraud.

There is a point here about if any leader should have any cause to fear speaking truth on any issue, there is something that needs to be addressed there, legally or in the public media.

Shirley was speaking at a rally for the rightest candidate who is among those favored to take over from the highly unpopular Kier (yet another unpopular UK leader, basically a long uninterrupted string of leaders no citizens wanted) We interviewed Nick Shirley at Tommy Robinson's rally (youtube.com) . Commenters have said that wihle Robinson doesn't have wide support, he has strong support from his fairly small consituency and this might be enough.

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California Passes The Stop Nick Shirley Act (youtube.com)

'A bunch of Somalians or Arminians'. Lol, which nationalities have made a criminal name for themselves in the States?

'A direct violation of the First Amendment,' the bill outlaws posting an image of a person who does immigration services, or something.

Nick Shirley's actually getting better at speaking.

April 1, 2026
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NFL's Bad Bunny gambit embraces sociopolitical artistry for high-stakes halftime show • FRANCE 24 (youtube.com)

First non English language album to win album of the year, albeit in another year without any good music. At the award show he lead with 'ICE out,' and saying they aren't savages. Bad Bunny called off US tour dates last year, concerned ICE would arrest people there, and saying he didn't need the US (sales). He's also going to perform at the Superbowl, despite whatever politics. The commenter says no one expects the Superbowl show to be without event, without politics.

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Hong Kong ex-media mogul Jimmy Lai will not appeal national security conviction, legal team says (apnews.com)

For 'conspiracy to collude with foreign forces and conspiring with others to publish seditious articles.'

'Last week, Lai won an appeal to quash his convictions and sentence in a separate fraud case, a rare victory in his legal battles.'

"We can confirm we have clear and definitive instructions not to lodge an appeal against conviction or sentence," his lawyers said.

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Women's Short Program — Channel One Cup in Figure Skating 2026 (youtube.com)

Kamila did a triple axel recently (yesterday?), and add that to her quads she did at the jump competition a month or so ago, and she has her arsenal of jumps back.

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The media may have unmasked Banksy — again. That's angered some art fans but not ruffled dealers (apnews.com)

'Banksy's apparent identity has been an open secret among protective fellow artists, and long been easy to find online for those who wanted to know. The Daily Mail reported in 2008 "compelling evidence suggesting" that was the artist's birth name. It has been published by other news outlets, including by The Associated Press in 2016, as part of their coverage of the detective work.'

'There's evidence that even some in the establishment he was protesting have accepted Banksy. They didn't arrest him, for example, after the Royal Courts of Justice removed a Banksy stencil depicting a judge in a traditional wig and gown beating an unarmed protester with a gavel. Some street artists groused that they might be arrested for creating such graffiti — but when it's a Banksy, it's art.'

"If anything, Banksy's anonymity has functioned less as a celebrity device and more as a way to keep the work universally accessible, detached from personality, ego, or biograph. It allows the work to sit in public space, politically and culturally, without being anchored to an individual in the way the mainstream press often frames it." Joe Syer, a Banksy expert

A commenter. 'Honestly? I'm just ignoring it. Banksy is Banksy. To me, it's more meaningful that I don't know his name. Some might feel the opposite. As long as no one bothers him, what's done is done.' Sort of the same take I have. He doesn't want to be public, so I'll go along. In Hagakure they express a Japanese idea that if a person doesn't want to have said a thing, it should be for you as if they never said the thing.

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Kanye dropped 'Bully' March 28 and I listened so some of them cursorily, then just let YouTube play whatever was next without paying attention and listened a bunch of them tons of times. Looked forward to the next day to put it on headphones and listen to it all. Which is what I'm doing right now.

The last bunch of albums I listened but didn't really care, except Ghosts maybe. This album too isn't that exciting but it's got so much good in it, and I kind of love it. Kanye isn't the smartest but he's pretty smart, isn't that educated, but he's never been afraid, and that might be what lets him always have access to the truth, or maybe he's most afraid of being weak ie not having access to the real truth.

The families Kanye and Tupac came from. So often teachers, social workers or activists. M.I.A., Little Silz, Lauren Hill. Want me to name you a city which is richer than yours but has a much lower GDP?

If people are (serious, sincere, applied) teachers or (non ignorant) social activists, should they just have confidence their kids have a decent chance? Can you say something you can't say about the children of bankers, businessmen, politicians? ... The real farmers and stewards of people, who care about something that also cares.

February 1, 2026
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Trump says he will talk musk about restoring internet iran (reuters.com)

Samo's 2025 Bismarck Brief
7 New Insights From 2025 at Bismarck Brief (substack.com)
AI progress isn't about just compute. It requires scientists with math, computer science, and software. This is why other countries can catch up to US.

Prestige and fashion are seemingly intrinsic but depend on conscious marketing and rituals, and exclusionary practices. Hermes, De Beers, based on imaginations.

Large institutions contain several live players (even if the organization is not or is no longer a live player), not just the founder. Google distributes funds to several disparate project areas.

Space is being militarized. Defense contractors, China trying to match SpaceX, which opened up a new phase. Can a middle power enter?

‘Progressive philanthropy and activism is increasingly shaped by none other than tech billionaires. ’ Personal mission of liberal tech billionaires to oppose Trump, perhaps more an engine for the Democrats than politicians.

‘Judges and bureaucrats are resilient to populist groundswells.’ Hungary. Some politicians in some EU and North American countries enabled by the internet. But these can't overpower the supreme courts.

...

FBI executes search warrant for 2020 election files in Fulton County (apnews.com)

Paris Hilton Helped Pass Legislation in D.C.; Talks 20 Years of "Stars Are Blind" and Motherhood (youtube.com)

Sydney Sweeney could face legal trouble after Hollywood Sign bra stunt (youtube.com)

JUST IN: Trump Asked, 'Do You Feel Like There's A Civil War Brewing?' Amidst Minneapolis Unrest (youtube.com)
Trump presents his case here. Lowest crime rate, enforced in cities by National Guard and soldiers. Removing 2000 criminals from Washington. New Orleans crime down 50%.

2% of the population causes over 90% of the crime, so if you remove that 2%...

He called the protesters in Minneapolis ‘really insurrections and agitators’ and said they were being paid. Professionally made signs, brand new wood, leather handles. ‘These are people that are handed signs'. He said the White House pretty much knows who's paying them.

‘Elections have consequences. The people want law and order.’

Products

September 1, 2026 - America the well-decorated, More AI in phones, FLock camera detection, Cute robot toys, New cell towers in Austin
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Major Dulles Makeover Pushed By Trump (youtube.com)

Has any president wanted so earnestly to make architecture attractive?

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The coolest anti-surveillance tools at Defcon (youtube.com)

Flock camera detection. Detection for stingrays sent by police to people's cellphones, who record and track you IMEIs. Phones can turn off constant seeking wifi, but most people don't bother. Devices that check if the same device is present twice, to check if anyone is tracking you. Meshtastic stuff.

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We made a new robot. (youtube.com)

Such as spy on you, spy on your friends, spy on your neighbors, collect and sell your information, leak your data. Same gameplan, make it look cute and hope that's enough for people to want it and drop their guard against the obvious requirement they give up their privacy and data.

August 1, 2026
July 1, 2026
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Japanese newspaper lends printers to zine makers, as physical subscriptions fall • FRANCE 24 (youtube.com)

They have zine fairs. Each zine has its own different 'world view'. Book and magazine sales peaked in 1996.

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Inside Trump Mobile (youtube.com)

Was going to be a $400 made entirely in USA phone, but turns out to be basically an 2-year-old HTC phone reskinned. It now reads 'Proudly assembled in the USA' because it's basically a Chinese phone, according to the inspection.

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Is SimpleX Chat the future of messaging? (youtube.com)

All messages are uniform, no device identifiers, no usernames. Has onion routing. You can run the server yourself. Funded by its users. AppImage for desktop, Android app. Servers are called 'routers' and are a chain for the packets. Traffic pattern analysis harder than with other communications apps.

Their login has a message that you, the user, commit to only legal content in public groups. In private groups who knows, but in public groups you respect the other users and their privacy.

Use of the app requires a second app, basically. Because to add someone privately you have to send them a QR or hyperlink they can click in their own Simplex app to link your two accounts. So he uses XMPP.

It does voice messages, voice calls. It also does voice to text.

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We made YOUR Dream Phone (youtube.com)

No OS (they considered having no BIOS), pop up selfie camera (no front camera notch), SD card slot. Sub 6 inch phone. Thicker body (because decent cameras are thick anyway, and most makers have tried to have a 'thin body' but have bumps that stick out for the cameras, so instead NothingPhone just thickened the whole body to have it flat at the thickness required for the cameras). 3800mA Silicon Carbon SiC battery.

They CT scanned a larger phone that had all the stuff they wanted and then measured all the components and tried to plan a rearrangement of them into a smaller case and CADed it.

This is what happens when the product is open to the community and responsive to it.

Many commenters said that if it can do GrapheneOS they'd buy, and some wanted to install Linux as well. Many still wanted a removable battery.

Nice to see so many people using GrapheneOS now. For a while there, the government tried to convince everyone that anyone who used GrapheneOS was a criminal, and this was kinda partially successful. But if a percentage of the population uses it, and people have seen it before, they can't accuse you. I've actually been surprised by how often I'm starting to see people saying they've been using GrapheneOS for months or a couple years, in forums like Reddit and HN.

June 1, 2026
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We Tested the Off-Grid Radio That Scares Cell Companies (youtube.com)

Meshtastic. Currently kind of like SMSs. During protests, the government can shut down cell service.

915mHz commercial radio space band. Low power squwk of information. Can be encrypted native to the hardware up to 256 AES.

Meshtastic (the app that you can put on your phone, and your phone is the interface, but they have Blackberry-like all-in-one devices so you don't need a phone) has been going 5 years, based on LoRa.

$25 plus you need a batte ry, up to $300. Battery can last all weekend (just listening).

Communications might be private again (not on record always).

All of Hawaii is meshed. Repeater towers are placed at the mountain peaks by hobbyists.

Many have GPS enabled as part of a sensor package (optional), so you can use it in the woods.

Uses antennas, works as far as line of sight, add repeaters to extend.

Has a limit to how many hops (otherwise it would be unlimited clutter). People tune their distance of transmissions they want.

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New website lets you spy on line lengths at some of the most viral spots (youtube.com)

Good tech gives people access to information, publicly, without compromising the privacy/information of any individuals.

Basically the opposite of this Hidden cameras found in San Gabriel Valley yards during burglary investigations (youtube.com) which is what most tech companies basically also do.

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Japan cleaner goes viral with spa-like service for soft toys | AFP (youtube.com)

Is this sort of the opposite of 80s/90s Japan, when new, which is valued in itself, was the thing to spend on, not maintaining older things? Also current, Forget fancy lunches: Japan's Plain Bento trend hits record high as food prices rise (youtube.com)

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A new Swatch model is introduced, and a case study in overexcited 'drop culture' plays out (apnews.com)

Is this just basically what Japan did for a few decades?

Similar to 2022 Moonwatch set (with Omega).

'In France, police used both tear gas grenades and tear gas spray to disperse crowds that gathered outside the country's Swatch boutiques, the national police service said.'

'The pocket watch launched only in retail stores and was not available online...'

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Hershey to bring back real chocolate as cocoa prices slump (youtube.com)

Cocoa down 70% since 2024.

It seems no one knew Hersheys products were fake.

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A look inside the 'Brady Bunch' home — now open to tours (youtube.com)

What's up with the sudden uptrend in opening public/museum spaces?

May 1, 2026
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I had a Subway sandwich today, and got a cookie. What percentage of the cookie is just sugar now? like 75%?

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Apple's iPod is making a comeback (apnews.com)
Actually, the retro cycle has passed records, tapes, CDs, and so mp3s are sequential, but I wasn't sure people would do this one, since really there aren't many iconic mp3 players, and actually, most leave a lot wanting, but the iPod was a nice one to use.

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Reece's Peanut Butter Cups have become gross. They just taste and feel like powdered sugar. You can't taste chocolate and can barely taste peanut butter. And you only get two smaller ones in a pack instead of the three larger ones a few years ago.

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Framework founder Nirav reviews Apple Neo vs Framework Laptop 12 (Comparative Teardown) (youtube.com)
Kind of an interesting way to do advertising. Look at the big corporate competitors side by side with your own product offering.

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Wise (Transferwise) raised it's fees considerably.

It used to have $350 withdrawal per month free (no fees), but lowered that to $100.

It increased it's fees from 1.75% to 2.69% for anything over $100 per month. Pretty close to traditional banks, which was the whole reason we got Wise accounts.

The fixed fee went from $1.50 to $2.69.

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Lots of negative sentiment on the recent Coachella. They had like no bands. Headlined by Beiber and Karol G, and tickets more expensive than ever. People said the Strokes were good, who were kind of headliners too.

April 1, 2026
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Hello, MacBook Neo (youtube.com)

In pastel yellow now, you can spy on yourself and your friends for less money than ever?

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Introducing open_slate: A Powerful and Private 2-in-1 Tablet (youtube.com)

Braxman.

"We decided to challenge this."

Are all these tech bloggers (with privSec focuses) going to eventually take action and make their own devices?

Gen MTK Chip (8core). Hardware switches (like Pinephone's). Designed to be the most compatible on the market, and inviting everyone to bring their OS to the product, giving choice.

Their Brax3 phone was an economic success, it seems.

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Parents are liking 'land line phones' for their kids. These are physically like the landlines used in the 80s and 90s, but are often digital software inside. Parents have concerns about the amount of screentime. Also, without screens you don't have pictures, which solves about 90% of the issues of cellphones.

These products could be improved by being able to set up (with the push of a button) a network, and you can add people to it individually, and it is not provided by a company (like a big data SM company) and it is limited to the network you create, so you can add your people an no spam calls, no strangers.

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Apple announces new iPhone (youtube.com)

A new version of an old way to spy on yourself and your friends?

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"Invent and resolve": How Cuba's survived six decades of US blockade | Al Jazeera World Documentary (youtube.com)

They call it 'mechanical art'.

In 1991 the Cuban army and a woman's group published 'The Family Book' (El Libro de la Familia) together, a book full of ideas for recycling and reusing. Cubans sent letters to the army publishing house, Green Olive, with more solutions. They published the book Con Nuestros Propios Esfuerzos'. 'The book was a contribution from the entire Cuban people.

The device is a field of possibilities.

Yet, Cubans don't like to repair, they say. To repair means you don't have money to buy new.

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Payphone at Boston University connects "Boomers and Zoomers" (youtube.com)

It seems we haven't settled on the device, 'the phone'. Or books either, for that matter.

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CASIO｜The Special One - S100X Japanese Lacquer Edition (youtube.com)

I wonder if this ad is taken seriously by anyone out there?

March 1, 2026
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Vimeo Has Been Gutted (youtube.com)
Sold for $1.3b, lots of staff fired,

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‘Drone chasers unite’
Night only, large drones, no explanation what they are.

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She created a 'community drone watch.'

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Nearly $8 to use an ATM in Thailand now!?
Nearly to use an ATM in Thailand now!?

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Scientists develop unsinkable metal tubes using water-repelling technology | The Optimist Daily (optimistdaily.com)
‘Modified the inner surface of aluminum tubes by etching it with lasers. The process creates micro- and nano-scale pits that make the metal extremely water-repellent. When the treated tube is submerged, this textured surface captures a stable air pocket inside, acting as a built-in flotation system.’ Chunlei Guo led.

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I Built a M/Year Factory in a 600sqft Shop
His shop cost $10k instead of $250k but he built it himself.

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Only needs 4 people, versus 100 people in sometihng non super automated.

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Canada imports 90% of greens from US. Long winters.

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2022 to 2023 greenhouses went up 10% in Canada.

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Tevel (Israel) wired drone harvest trucks harvesting apples also shown in the video.

February 1, 2026
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At-home STD tests offer new options for screening and treatment (apnews.com)
'Some home-based tests still require outside input to get the results.'

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X Announces Writers' Contest, Prize Money Rivals Nobel for Literature | WION News (youtube.com)
Best performing (solely performance based, and only in US, reportedly) piece in X's articles section. He wants quality, longform (at least 1000 words) on X.

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Chinese navy ship offers medical aid in Brazil in Latin American tour (youtube.com)
‘While the US sends warships to the region, China sends a humanitarian mission. I think this is a great lesson about cooperation, harmony, and coexistence among peoples.’

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This is a New Kind of Wireless (youtube.com)
A parallel 3giga LoRa band, 300kbps. Meshtastic going from texts to voice.

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Local Coffee Shop Blends Drinks, Social Issues and Community | Living St. Louis (youtube.com)
‘I wanted to [locate] where the problems are. I wanted to come where brothers and sisters that were addicted to drugs, that were struggling, I wanted to provide' a location within that.

They have a banned books library also. She wants uncomfortable conversations. ‘I just wanted to be where nobody else wanted to be.’

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