Links 9/18/2026

A finely tuned mess—how disorder can make networks more stable Northwestern University How SpaceX Streamlined the Raptor Engine Construction Physics UK mathematician debunks myth around Parthenon’s optical illusions The Guardian Young people are confusing fandom for activism Who Broke It Water ‘We Are Spending Our Reserves,’ WMO Chief Warns as UN Drops Global Water Report Common Dreams The War for the Rio Grande Texas Monthly The Colorado River crisis will be a defining moment in US history. The river supplies 40 million people; Mead and Powell, two of the nation’s largest reservoirs, are at record lows. Filling them near full would take ~8 consecutive very wet winters, a statistical impossibility. pic.twitter.com/IfgsHex83n — Colin McCarthy (@US_Stormwatch) September 17, 2026 Climate/Environment The open houses at the edge of disaster HEATED Earth’s water cycle has become more erratic and unpredictable Climate & Capitalism ’NGI’ will save us: Natural General Intelligence Ryan Orbuch Pandemics Denial is a tactic for both the COVID-19 and climate crises The Sick Times RFK Jr. Bolsters Vaccine Skepticism at Children’s Health Defense Conference MedPage Today India Does India Have Leverage Against the US and China? Takshashila Institution Japan Bank of Japan Raises Rates, Making U.S. Less Alluring for Tokyo Investors WSJ How Bessent, America’s bond salesman, cornered Japan on big spending Reuters China? Days Before Xi Meets Trump, Huawei Unveils an Nvidia Challenger to Boost Beijing’s AI Confidence George Chen Chinese Yuan Hits Strongest Level Since 2022 After PBOC Fixing Bloomberg US Navy should target carriers in fight with China, report says Military Times China presses Iran to help rein in Houthis after Saudi appeal, sources say Reuters Today’s Decisions to Decide Future Strategic Balance in Region: Iranian FM Tasnim. From Beijing. Iran’s FM discusses regional developments with Turkish, Pakistani officials IRNA. Called them from Beijing. Syraqistan War-Damaged Building in Gaza Collapses, Killing 21, as Gaza Remains Unlivable Truthout *** Russian Satellites Reportedly Helped Iran Target US Bases, as Saudis Beg China to Intervene Simplicius Trump tells Axios he’s approaching major crossroads in Iran war Axios Targeted killings in Iran’s Sunni-majority areas raise fear of ‘plot’ to stir violence Amwaj *** Those gifting Epstein Kaaba cover threaten Mecca, not Yemen: Al-Mashat Al Mayadeen US clears $24.3 billion F-35 package for Saudi Arabia Al Mayadeen Defence minister says time has come to implement Makkah pact amid Houthi attacks Geo News Powerus and Pakistan: The optics problem with a Trump-linked deal Economic Times Erdogan to sidestep Turkey’s constitutional term limits in early 2028 vote, adviser says France24 Old Blighty London drug dealers are hijacking Google Maps London Centric The Irish Kraken Awakens: British Interests After American Power Multipolarity European Disunion Europe’s Security Council plan hits a wall of skepticism Politico German producer inflation accelerates to 4.6% in August, exceeding forecasts Anadolu Agency Germany, US to expand shared production of Patriot interceptors, strike missiles Defense News 🇫🇷⛽️ Fuel shortages are now hitting gas stations in France, according to Le Figaro. Approximately 10% of stations are struggling to supply at least one type of fuel, and government spokesperson Maud Bègues says the situation has grown increasingly complex in recent weeks.… pic.twitter.com/LqjQiCYbdd — Military Summary (@MilitarySummary) September 16, 2026 European leaders rush to counter looming diesel price surge as Saudi pipeline attacked Euronews Coalition Talks Begin in Sweden After Centre-left’s Elections Victory TeleSur New Not-So-Cold War Trump plans to sign Russia sanctions bill ‘soon,’ White House source says Kyiv Independent Trump Wants Putin to End the War. He May Offer Russia Business Deals First. New York Times US set to approve 10 Patriot interceptors for Ukraine from Germany, records show Kyiv Independent Polish prime minister Donald Tusk today publicly disclosed that the Ukrainian armed forces are suffering 27,000 battlefield casualties a month. This number is expected as Budanov had recently stated that the Ukrainian armed forces need 30,000 mobilized men a month to maintain… https://t.co/15RUjx01Cv — ayden (@squatsons) September 18, 2026 The Russian Military Campaign Against Europe: Defining the Threat Institute for the Study of War West actively prepares for war against Russia, spreads myth of Russian threat — Lavrov TASS Polish premier says Russia could stage ‘accidental’ strikes on NATO’s eastern flank Anadolu Agency Trump says US making ‘major progress’ in opening Army base in Poland The Hill Pentagon weighs pulling nearly a third of U.S. forces from Europe NBC News South of the Border Venezuela nears deal to move $4bn gold reserve to New York FT Trump Allies Secure Venezuela Resource Concessions as ExxonMobil Eyes Return Venezuelanalysis USA’s Venezuela takeover comes with bonus exposure to Chinese AI surveillance tech The Register Argentine judge orders suspension of ‘Sea Lion’ Malvinas oil project Buenos Aires Times . “The plaintiffs sought to block Britain’s Rockhopper Exploration and Israel’s Navitas Petroleum from the so-called ‘Sea Lion’ oil field, located about 220 kilometres (137 miles) from the [Falkland] islands.” Trump 2.0 Trump Aides Are Prepping an AI Takeover of Government Services Washington Sun. Important. Trump says rising gas prices are ‘small price to pay’ for Iran war USA Today Pentagon No. 3 frustrates senators in closed-door briefing on Iran war, Trump defense strategy The Hill Democrats Suck Democratic advisers are warning their candidates not to go too hard at AI Politico AI Liability, regulation, and AI’s new false dichotomy Gary Marcus Imperial Collapse Watch Rehearsals of American Energy Dominance: How Washington’s New Secondary Sanctions on Russia Threaten Global Trade Energy Geopolitics & Statecraft U.S. Plans Resumed F-16 Orders After 22 Year Pause: Can the F-16G Make Up for F-35 Cuts? Military Watch Lockheed Martin gets first batch of Patriot interceptor parts from General Motors Reuters Does the US need a culture shift to create a workforce for the defense industrial base? Defense News America’s troops must prepare now for warfare on moon, top general saysStars and Stripes Enshittification Historicising Enshittification Disjunctions The Bezzle So I arrived in Austin and decided to take a robotaxi ride into work.. The Robotaxi arrived… and then couldn’t get out of the hotel parking lot. There was construction in one lane.. but it couldn’t see the other open lane. It drove back and forth 4 times and then stopped and… pic.twitter.com/101F04Al9n — PK (@paul_k_0907) September 15, 2026 Class Warfare Canadian Walmart Workers Make History: A Union Contract Labor Notes For the Love of Money The Baffler NYC deploys robotoilets. The public bathrooms have a strict 10-minute time limit. Gothamist Antidote du jour (via): See yesterday’s Links and Antidote du Jour here. Re the Antidote du jour. The dog tried it’s best to stop the cat from wrecking the place but in the end was overcome. Heh heh, good boy, oh dear. I think I love that dog. Good morning. The intense pleasure of relaxing into a gentle doze with the satisfaction of a job well done. I don’t know. That damage looks like it was done by ANTIFA…. Luckily the homeowner came home… that little guy looks all tuckered out ,surely after trying to resist those antifa rabble rousers. Homeowner is a 2nd Amendment dude, but missed ANTIFA and instead hit the vase. “Even US gun owners are not what they used to be.” Or: It is the cat manipulating the dog into making it appear as if it had tried “to stop the cat from wrecking the place but in the end was overcome.” after watching too many YT economics videos in the ill-fated attempt to understand its own government´s conduct on Iran, assessing the future price of cat food. (assuming this is a US cat which is also who made the above picture and submitted it to NC in an operation to manipulate us who are trying to figure out this biggest of riddles…) From econ Prof. Steve Keen. It’s a good, general history lesson. Trump’s New Plan to RESET the Dollar: Top Economist Warns https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3I7g5PZTN20 Thanks, watching now. I like Steve Keen. “London drug dealers are hijacking Google Maps” Man, what ever did drug dealers do before modern technology- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vIyvmwMlF2I (2:56 mins) They used runners and lookouts but now those jobs have been swallowed up by AI, seriously increasing teen unemployment throughout London. Also giving a big boost to Reform voter numbers. The Construction Physics is rocket science and is interesting. Re: “NYC deploys robotoilets. ” The story here isn’t that there is a 10 minute time limit. The story is that this is the 4th attempt in recent history to make public toilets accessible to New Yorkers (late 1990s, early 2000s, 2023, 2024). And there haven’t been many material changes in the underlying restrictions on construction, siting, and use that will make this attempt more successful. Perhaps if they fitted them out with surveillance cameras and wifi monitors they’d be immediately installed. That will give a whole new meaning to the term Ring Camera. As seen on the Times Square “Jumbo” tron? What’s wrong with the decades-proven Porta Pottys like on construction sites and outdoor events? They’re much cheaper and less chance of a breakdown. As for that “10 minute limit” older people (and some not so old) often have bowels and bladders that don’t run on a clock. I can envision the doors being destroyed by disgruntled users. Putting on my tin-foil hat I can think up a long list of what else might be going on here. I’m can’t be the only one who thinks those delivery robots look like campsite portajohns on wheels? I will say, Roosevelt Island’s public restroom was surprisingly well maintained, for a public one. It was better than some restaurants’. “US set to approve 10 Patriot interceptors for Ukraine from Germany, records show” Yep. That should do it. Ten of these missiles from the US and another ten from Germany giving twenty in total. (a few minutes later) Ukrainian battery commander: ‘Well, fellas, there goes that lot. Anybody know when the next batch is due?’ Time to fire up the Storm Shadow Banks? Add this to antidote du jour, if you like: https://x.com/Messia367558/status/2100266950924661232/video/1 Watch till end for the reason I reposted. :-) lol! Thanks for the much needed laugh. It’s AI slop. Well, I don’t think so, I followed the pooch depressing the snow, and it tracked, but if it is the prompt was a pretty good one. The humorous statement is undeniable. Re “NGI” One might argue that human behavior and consciousness are also automated to a degree since we too are a product of Nature. Whereas AI is a machine that can only simulate what we are. Meanwhile here Hua Bin argues that while AI may have important consequences for our service economy it still can’t, per Trump, “win” in an economy that has abandoned its industry. https://huabinoliver.substack.com/p/whoever-wins-ai-wins-everything-is “Do what you imagine the unseen entity would want you to do.” “Submit to people who use the special leadership-coded mating tones to justify their personal whims, even when they are abusive.” “Living under past fictions is not actually insane. Reproducing them is not actually malicious.” “Value is real.” Nah, the real automation has always been in culture itself, just like the Communist Manifesto pointed out. “US clears $24.3 billion F-35 package for Saudi Arabia” Israel is seriously unhappy with this deal but I don’t know why. The Saudis are hardly be going to use them to attack Israel with and if they did something that the US did not like, the US would just flick the off switch for those aircraft leaving them sitting on the tarmac. But if the Saudis did buy them, they should remember that at any one time only a quarter of them will be able to get off the ground. So if the Saudis want 2 squadrons of them to use, they will have to buy 8 squadrons worth for that to happen. And will they be delivered with technology or nothing more than ballast in the nose cone? re: Antidote du jour I know this is about the dog – but those look like damn fine chairs just like I had them on my porch in Kentucky. re: Germany – political change in East Berlin BERLINER ZEITUNG with a brief overview of which party was ruling in the legendary district of Marzahn-Hellersdorf between 1990 and 2025. Or: A story about the demise of THE LEFT. From a red district to an AfD stronghold: The political transformation in Marzahn-Hellersdorf Marzahn-Hellersdorf was once a stronghold of the left; today, the AfD achieves its strongest results in Berlin here. A look at a district in political transition. https://archive.is/Odhsi I admit to being inorant about German politics, but I suspect that this ¨change¨ may in large part due more to a change in what the political parties stand for, than to a change in the values of the residents of that district in Berlin. I think that this morphing of political parties into something completely different is one of the causes of the disenchantment with electoral politics we see worldwide. Precisely. This one newspaper is actually among the very few trying to put a finger on what you describe. Within DIE LINKE there was of course discussion about the internal course. I remember that when this turn towards life-style issues became apparent its supporters argued that GREENs would dominate young voters otherwise. And a change would eventually result in a “net positive” of votes. The break of 2011 that the article hints at is thus not a new fact. But all that doesn´t matter if the party leadership ditches one path to the benefit of a different one. You can´t have it both ways. And now? Just like in the US they fed on the Gaza events. I am not sure they understand the fact that the unexpected DIE LINKE success in 2025 was mainly due to a “genocide”. And that this momentum will not last forever. Especially considering that real substantive criticism of naming names of perpetrators was fiercly blocked. So even though DIE LINKE thrived on its token opposition to “Gaza” members of that same party who called Israel a genocidal state and all the other inconvenient facts were often simply expelled from the party. Still they sell this image of an anti-imperialist force? Opportunistic, duplicitous pack of egotistical liars. I used to vote for them until 8 years ago since there was no other party to cast a meaningful vote for. With BSW that problem too has been solved now. I really hope BSW will be able to benefit from the current uptick. p.s. And then there is still the normative court decision over the BSW mail-in-ballot votes of 2025 elections which the media is mute about but many are waiting for. “Trump Wants Putin to End the War. He May Offer Russia Business Deals First.” Trump still doesn’t understand that relations between countries are not all about business deals. Countries have strategic interests which dictate their foreign policy. So there is no business deal Trump can offer Russia which will let them accept turning the Ukraine into a huge NATO base with nuclear-tipped missiles only about seven minutes from Moscow. Look at the Cuban missile crisis. Was there any business deal that the old USSR could have offered the US so that they would accept Russian nuclear missiles based in Cuba? No, I thought not. You think so?? Did you ever hear the phrase ¨What is good for General Motors is good for America¨? The Cuban missile crisis was merely Russia going tit-for-tat and placing those missiles in Cuba after the US point blank refused to remove nuclear missile silos in Turkey. The US fully expected that Russia would accept US missiles that were roughly the same distance from the silos in Turkey to Moscow as the Russian missiles were from Cuba to Washington (and roughly the same distance from the silos in Turkey to USSR territory as the missiles in Cuba were from US territory). The crisis was also not resolved due to Russia caving under the threat of them placing nukes on Cuban territory starting WW3 but the US caving and agreeing to remove those silos in Turkey. But if we accept that version of the story then JFK isn’t a hero ripe for sentimentalisation but a dolt! Exactly. Perhaps not a “hero”, but a “dolt”? Didn’t he hold off General LeMay and others wanting the U.S. to invade Cuba? At the very least I would say “effective manager.” Agreed. Macnamara, who pushed for an invasion, happened to sitting next to the former Russian commander in Cuba many years later. He nearly fell off his chair when that Russian guy said that not only did he have nuclear strategic missiles but also tactical nuclear weapons as well – with full authority to use them in case of an invasion. And as we now know, a nuclear exchange would have led to a nuclear winter for the entire planet. So I give Kennedy full credit for that. He was a dolt. Starting around 1970-71, the Soviets again started basing nuclear subs and bombers out of Cienfuegos Bay in Cuba. Nixon and Kissinger had the sense to realize that it would make no difference if the missiles were launched from Soviet subs ashore of the US or from Cuba. They didn’t want a replay of the dumb 1963 crisis and just ignored the Soviet presence in Cuba. As did every other US president for the duration of the Cold War, including Reagan. Re; AI… Beezle..? Adding to the general state of confusion as actors race to substitute simulation for reality, there’s this: AI Can Now Fake Celebrity Photos So Perfectly That Even Experts Can’t Tell They’re Fake This new phase of image generation has been described as a leap into “deepfake realism.” Just a few years ago, even the most advanced AI-generated portraits had telltale flaws—strange lighting, asymmetrical eyes, unnatural skin textures, or distorted details in hair and background. But with the rapid evolution of models like DALL·E, Midjourney, and other neural image generators, those imperfections are disappearing The implications go beyond technology—they strike at the foundations of trust. We live in a world already saturated with visual media: social networks, news feeds, video platforms. Our perception of truth has long been shaped by images. If those images can no longer be trusted, what happens to our ability to believe? CelebrityIt’ll get interesting when we “know” nothing except through driect, first-hand experience. Sounds more like an OpenAI advertisement, begging for some anticompetitive regulation. Let me point out some GPT telltales in the interest of the group: – “DALL-E” is two years ago. People mostly use Gemini for images these days, as far as I can tell. – The three-word pop-up news aggregator domain is a favorite stovepiping tactic of PR agencies and info operations. – The first sentence of the second graf has that canned influencer form that GPT made famous. Musk/tesla like Trump continues to show their incompetence and people still believe. Crazy. “Ye shall be saved by faith, not work.” [Sign over the virtual gate into the Politicoverse.] Sorry, but I couldn’t come up with a Meta joke on such short notice. re: AI – Sanders Bannon join forces Not sure: was this already on NC? The “Pro-Human Assembly” on AI: Sanders and the trade union bureaucracy join hands with the fascist right Sept. 17th https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2026/09/17/wrke-s17.html The billionaires among us. https://scheerpost.com/2026/09/18/robert-kraft-the-billionaire-friend-of-netanyahu-pulling-the-strings-behind-the-macklemore-ed-sheeran-blow-up/ Or perhaps the billionaire gerontocracy among us since Kraft is yet another 80+ year old calling the shots. Once again our new Boomer motto: don’t trust anyone over 80! Ed Sheeran is trying to get out of the mess that he created for himself by challenging Kraft to donate a million dollars for charity if he does so as well. Remember, it was Kraft who told Sheeran that if Mackelmore was not fired, he and his wealthy buddies would make sure that no stadium in America would be available for him. The problem? No word which charity. So you can be sure it will not be for Palestinians. Maybe for the Ukrainians as Sheeran has backed them. Or maybe for a welfare program for stressed out IDF troops. Sheeran has a net worth of some $400 million so could have told Kraft to shove it but instead he folded for a few dollars more. And what he did will follow him for he rest of his career. As the article points out his side acts and band quit in protest so his tour is in shambles anyway. I think all of this is encouraging. As the Israelis like to say there needs to be a “price tag” for those who seek to interfere with our democratic rights. There is a “price tag” for those who seek to ‘interfere’ with our political system. [Democratic Rights is a Trademark of Uniparty US, LLC, so I had to revert to a generic formulation.] Bargaining down the “price tag” will take a while since we need to un-AIPAC this long running meme. As the pundit said many years ago: “Politics ain’t beanbag.” No it’s not, today it’s Money Bag. (Not feeling particularly ‘safe’ today.) For Sheeran and Kraft a million bucks is very small potatoes. File it under performative. The thing is that Kraft hasn’t confirmed he’s pledged any money, just that he was asked to make a contribution by Sheeran. He did mention that the money ($2m) will go to “aid the region”, so make of that what you will.. Kraft is also in the Epstein Files, a fact which should be mentioned any time he is mentioned. As for Ed Sheeran, I was boycotting him long before it was cool. ;) Well, Macklemore two years ago: Hinds Hall Anyone who does not see the innocence of children does not have a human heart. “Does India Have Leverage Against the US and China?” It’s not a matter if India has leverage or not but whether they have the will to use it. India could have had a good future for itself in becoming closer to China and Russia as well as Iran and continued it’s course as a rising power. Instead, Modi threw all that away and got into bed with the US and Israel instead because, you know, they are so popular. Didn’t help when US officials came out and said they they will not permit India to rise but will put a spoke in it’s development. Seems that there are a lot of Indians who are pro-Anglos, in spite of the fact that the UK & the US once sent their navies to threaten India back in the 70s,. Modi must have forgotten that bit, even though back then he was only in his 20s. India could have been a contender. “… got into bed with the US…” Remember the halcyon days when Fearless Leader was accused of participating in a “pissing contest” with some ladies of negotiable affection on the bed of his hotel room in Moscow? Now he has well and truly s–t the bed. That reminds me of a graffiti I read many years ago on the wall of a bathroom stall in a lesbian bar in the French Quarter: “You know he loves you if he agrees to sleep on the wet spot in the bed.” Pretty soon we will find out how much MAGA ‘loves’ Fearless Leader. Say. about the second week in November. Stay safe. Prepare, and like Fearless Leader demonstrates, “assume a position.” re: Germany/USA – de-banking A new German court ruling stopped one such case. Conflict with US terror list is not grounds for account termination The Red Aid association, which is under surveillance by the German Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution, collects donations for criminal defense – and the savings bank closed its account because the USA placed a recipient of donations on its terrorist list. The Higher Regional Court of Braunschweig ruled: This is unacceptable. https://archive.is/WmAxQ File under: “Democrats Suck” Democratic advisers are warning their candidates not to go too hard on AI https://archive.ph/YgjwT Yup. Meanwhile some 35 states have passed moratoriums on new data centers. Yes temporary ones. The corruption in the dem establishment is truly disgusting There has been a lot about Ed Sheeran’s kicking Macklemore off the tour. However you feel about rap, it is obvious music has become something the state needs to control. They would rather control its creation than have to poison performers after they become popular (thinking Bob Marley here). In this video from yesterday, Mike Benz explores how the CIA used rap music to topple the government of Senegal in 2012 using rap music. How the US AID and rap music game. This is part two. Part three will air on Sunday. Thank you, I linked Macklemor’s Hind Hall above. ” America’s troops must prepare now for warfare on moon, top general says Waiting for the day that Trump will announce that the US has put nuclear weapons in orbit around the Earth with Musk’s boosters to stop other countries from doing the same. Only for defensive purposes of course. The US Space Force is going to expand by several more thousand people in the next five years so how will they spend their time. How will they be used exactly. Going around shouting pew-pew at each other? I think this is just a way to increase the military budget rather than a real initiative? “America’s troops must prepare now for warfare on moon, top general says” I guffawed. The Armed Forces that have been beaten by Iran are going to go to the moon in search of their next defeat. re: UK leaked policy papers Leak from No 10 reveals how Starmer planned to stay in power – and the policies borrowed by Burnham How much has Andy Burnham borrowed from Keir Starmer? Sam Coates reveals a leak from the heart of Downing Street which helps answer that question. https://news.sky.com/story/leak-from-no-10-reveals-how-starmer-planned-to-stay-in-power-and-the-policies-borrowed-by-burnham-13589059?dcmp=snt-sf-twitter An ICE Agent has been indicted on 6 counts in MN. Pleads not guilty out on 75K bond, ankle monitor, and surrender of us passport. https://www.krqe.com/news/national/ap-ice-officer-to-appear-in-federal-court-for-alleged-false-statement-in-nonfatal-minneapolis-shooting/ At least we get one bit of good news. So when I couldn’t sleep, I pondered. Is consciousness an evolutionary dead end? Humans have destroyed the planet. Change takes time. The bill has already come due. We’re cooked. Or is it conceptualizing abstractions that’s the dead end? None of this would be possible without abstraction. Or do humans simply have a self destructive tendency builtin; is it emotion that’s an evolutionary dead end? I do not believe consciousness has a builtin self destructive tendency and far from being an evolutionary dead end it seems to me consciousness and intelligence are the direction of future evolution. I also do not believe humans have a self destructive tendency. Humans as a group are not working toward their self-destruction. The present political economic system spread by the American Empire contains strong self-destructive inclinations that it continuously builds upon and drives toward a catastrophic end, driving much of the human Populace, and much of the rest of life on this planet toward death and destruction. it seems to me consciousness and intelligence are the direction of future evolution Why do you think that? Why do you think that? That’s a fair question. In my view the past history of evolution has trended toward consciousness and intelligence along several lines. Part of this view is based on my belief that humans are not the only creatures that appear, to me, to possess consciousness and intelligence. Humankind is surrounded by alien consciousnesses and intelligence, as science is slowly beginning to realize. I also believe consciousness and intelligence offer significant advantages for survival in dynamic conditions. And the system reproduces; so we’ve gone off the rails. There’s no broad innate tendency to decline participation, particularly when the cost is probably your existence. Or there’s a lack of ability to take the system as object and explore it and its implications. But something is amiss. In the past, technological factors perhaps prevented this from being as catastrophic as it is today. I agree that the system has gone off the rails. I agree that “There’s no broad innate tendency to decline participation, particularly when the cost is probably your existence.” I would argue further that they are strong compulsions to ‘participate’ as you imply when you mentions costs for ‘non-participation’. I believe “The Dawn of Everything” by David Graeber and David Wengrow as well as much of Michael Hudson’s writings strongly suggest the ‘track’ we are on, speeding toward a brick wall, is peculiar to late stage Neoliberal “Civilization”. I also believe many of the problems we face were and are created by this same Neoliberal “Civilization”, and I believe Neoliberal “Civilization” is anything but related to consciousness or intelligence, however much it may have warped these qualities. “Technological factors” are tools that give long teeth and claws to the destructive genius of Neoliberal “Civilization”, but they are tools neutral to how they might be used. If Humankind can preserve enough Knowledge of Science and Technology, they are tools the surviving members of Humankind will need to build an existence after the Collapse. In Kurt Vonnegut’s Galapagos he posits that man evolved too big a brain. The book ends with humanity extinguishing itself except for a small island where what’s left of humanity eventually devolves into otter like creatures with a smaller brain that just has a good time playing in the surf. Democratic advisers are warning their candidates not to go too hard at AI What’s interesting, is that you can only have a policy position on things that won’t upset people; It’s scary to have any convictions that might get you challenged. Better to have flexible positions and morals. Why run on an issue that can gravitate support towards you across the entire political spectrum? The policy is pretty simple, too. Enforce the rule of law. Copyright theft with commercial intent is a felony. Prosecute felons. This is very very simple. This is literally a rule of law vs rule of strongmen issue. It’s a winner for anyone that wants to reach up and grab it. Trump Aides Are Prepping an AI Takeover of Government Services As I consider how truly rapacious Intuit is — they lock you out of your business data after your subscription expires and 1 year elapses, inaccessible — I realized that an accounting system is a public utility. We have have all kinds of public software, developed by the people, available for free. The federal government should provide an accounting package for small and medium businesses that works with payroll and taxing, with extension modules for inventory and the like. There’s zero reason any American citizen ought to have a gun held to their head by the executives at Intuit; frankly it ought to be the other way around. I’m amazed we haven’t had a United Healthcare style event at Intuit, given how much they jerk around their customers. And if you don’t pay, you go out of business just about. Extortion. Illegal, as I recall, no? Imagine if we enforced criminal laws in this country against corporate criminals? Everyday, my man. Is Luigi calling to you? Selective culling of undesirables could be the answer to your question above. An aside: Looks like MoA refreshed/updated their DigiCert certification. MoA opened fine without my browser barking about ‘a potentially dangerous link.’ >For the Love of Money Ironically, this idea was considered common sense before the rise of neoliberalism. Since workers were also consumers, improving their standard of living was crucial to the development of capitalism. Thinking about The War for the Rio Grande. October 2008, Volume 14, Number 4 (Regents of the University of California) (bold mine) That’s a lot of people. Like then, today, there’re all gonna have to go somewhere. Also, we’re pump pump pumping the aquifers in the plains states today for crops. Oops. Where will those people go? re: AfD – Ukraine War The former AfD´s spokesperson on defense issues, Rüdiger Lucassen, is in favour of Ukrainian attacks on RU industrial and military infrastructure. He had been pressured to resign from his position in April 2026. The only thing he is opposed to are German arms deliveries. The incompetence/dishonesty behind this argument is noteworthy since Lucassen is a former high-ranking officer and pilot for German Luftwaffe specialized on attack helicopters also commanding a regiment. He was eventually working in the German DoD and was liaison for NATO. After his career he became a business owner providing equipment to armed forces and police. Here a short report on his latest visit to Kiev, via fb: “AfD defense policy spokesperson Rüdiger Lucassen traveled to Kyiv to see the consequences of the Russia-Ukraine war for himself—unlike many of his fellow party members, who have recently tended to travel to Moscow. “A war of aggression legitimizes strikes against military targets on enemy territory,” the Bundestag member and former colonel explained after his trip, justifying his stance on Ukrainian attacks on Russian soil. Nevertheless, Lucassen continues to oppose German arms deliveries to Ukraine. At the same time, Lucassen is distancing himself from the pro-Russian stance held by factions within his party; according to reports, he has also criticized Thuringian AfD politician Björn Höcke. “There is no sign that the Russian side wants to negotiate,” he said, contradicting the view prevalent within the AfD that halting aid to Ukraine and holding talks with the Kremlin would be the sole path to peace.” p.s. One question is: what will his role be in coming years. I assume he is somewhat of a Joker depending how things will turn out. AfD obviously playing all angles. Re: The Irish kraken awakes, this podcast takes a curious line in asserting that Trump expressing what recent polls indicate is by far the democratic will of the entire island (ie. Unification) as being “the worst possible attack on a supposed ally”, and then proceeds to bleat about the prospect of murderous soldiers facing justice being abhorrent. Despite the Irish co-host it certainly does not represent an Irish perspective or for that matter reality. Another for Class Warfare… occasionally the elites tell the truth. Didn’t learn how to schmooze, you lose! The Working Class Face a ‘Class Ceiling’ in Elite Occupations NYT archive According to a recent paper, such a background can also hurt a scholar’s career. The paper, in the prestigious journal Econometrica, found that scholars whose parents did not graduate from college are less likely to land tenure-track jobs at major research universities and less likely to get tenure. … A key reason is that first-generation graduates appeared to have less social or cultural capital than people from more privileged backgrounds, as the paper puts it. Because of their upbringing, they have fewer friends and relatives in a position to help them, and aren’t as good at working the system on their own. They might bungle a social interaction or come off the wrong way in an email. They might fail to leverage a chance encounter with a famous professor, or be altogether unaware of the need to court prominent patrons. Ruh, roh! Trump is now banning major news media from “his” White House- ‘Donald J. Trump @realDonaldTrump I am proud to announce that, effective immediately, I am banning Fake News CNN, MSNOW (who recently changed their name from MSNBC due to lack of viewership and credibility!), and Politico (The recipients of an illegal and ridiculous $8 Million Dollar subscription, an All Time Record, directly from the United States Government, under Crooked Joe Biden, in order to keep them “alive.” Seems like corruption to me!), from the White House as a result of their constant “reporting” FAKE NEWS! Media Outlets shouldn’t be able to constantly write or report FICTION and LIES when they’re covering the President of the United States, the Trump Administration, or the United States of America. Other Fake News Media Outlets to follow. Thank you for your attention to this matter! President DONALD J. TRUMP’ https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/117293599348325006 So now they will be on the outside of the tent peeing in rather than on the inside peeing out.