Trump’s diesel deal with Putin won’t help American truckers but it gives a huge boost for Russia

Trump’s diesel deal with Putin won’t help American truckers but it gives a huge boost for Russia

Phillips P. O’Brien writes: With the major story breaking yesterday of the US announcing the purchase of diesel fuel from Russia, followed by a Treasury Department announcement of sanctions relief on Russia (see details below), I am sending out this overview. This development is not only important but it is also indicative of a truth that many (most) people have been unwilling to admit for the last 21 months. The narrow story is the decision by the Trump administration to…

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Japan declares ‘a state of emergency in cyberspace’

Japan declares ‘a state of emergency in cyberspace’

Gizmodo reports: We haven’t quite reached the cyber apocalypse that artificial intelligence companies have warned their technology could unleash on the world, but we’re getting uncomfortably close to a catastrophe on a national scale. According to a report from the Financial Times, Japan is being hammered by cyberattacks, prompting regulators to search for ways to protect financial institutions from potentially devastating disruptions and leading the country to declare “a state of emergency in cyberspace.” Per the report, Japan’s ruling Liberal…

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Jonathan Haidt: AI is the ‘neutron bomb for education’

Jonathan Haidt: AI is the ‘neutron bomb for education’

  Long before he became famous as the author of The Anxious Generation, Jonathan Haidt was a social psychologist whose work revolutionized the field. In this episode of The Permanent Questions, taped in front of a live audience at last month’s Atlantic Festival, David Brooks talks with Haidt about his biggest lessons from 40 years of studying human nature. David and Haidt discuss the role of the emotions in moral decision making, how to design a system that produces less…

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How Elon Musk’s delusions of grandeur became other people’s reality

How Elon Musk’s delusions of grandeur became other people’s reality

Megan Garber writes: In December 2021, Elon Musk sat for an interview with The Babylon Bee, a conservative satire site. Having covered the typical topics (wokeness, free speech, Elizabeth Warren) and finding themselves with a bit more time to fill, the outlet’s then–creative director closed out the chat with a request. “The Babylon Bee is a Christian organization, and we’re a ministry,” he reminded Musk. So “we’re wondering if you could do us a quick solid and accept Jesus as…

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The biggest source of inequality in the U.S. that no one talks about

The biggest source of inequality in the U.S. that no one talks about

Rogé Karma writes: For 40 years, a huge number of rich business owners have taken advantage of a tax concept known as pass-through income. This anodyne-sounding technique allows millionaires and billionaires to exempt their fortunes from the corporate tax and shield large portions of them from income taxation, depriving the government of trillions of dollars in revenue, driving a huge amount of inequality, and creating a powerful political constituency opposed to reform. “This is arguably the most important development in…

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A blood-red tide is surging across Latin America

A blood-red tide is surging across Latin America

Andre Pagliarini writes: Contrary to the ravings of its most fervent reactionaries, Brazil counts its votes accurately and with remarkable efficiency. So when polls closed at 5 p.m. local time on Sunday, the mood on the left soured quickly. Presidential candidate and Rio de Janeiro Senator Flávio Bolsonaro, whose father watched election coverage under house arrest because he attempted a coup four years ago, never trailed as the results trickled in. His allies running for governor and legislative posts—including his…

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The happiest countries in the world have the highest levels of trust. The U.S. ranks #23

The happiest countries in the world have the highest levels of trust. The U.S. ranks #23

Quartz reports: A single survey question produces the ranking most often cited as a measure of national well-being. Gallup World Poll interviewers ask people in more than 140 countries to picture a ladder numbered zero to 10. The top rung represents the best possible life for them, the bottom rung the worst. Respondents say which rung they stand on today. That question, known as the Cantril ladder, generates the scores behind the World Happiness Report. The happiest countries in the…

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AI firms prepare for a catastrophic AI event, such as a banking shut down, seen as inevitable in months

AI firms prepare for a catastrophic AI event, such as a banking shut down, seen as inevitable in months

Axios reports: Top executives at Anthropic, OpenAI and other AI companies are privately gaming out scenarios for a public and political revolt after a catastrophic AI event. Why it matters: These officials anticipate a large-scale event, most likely a cyberattack, that shuts down access to financial services, internet connectivity, or even power and water. The first example of significant real-world harm caused by unsafe AI would turn an already wary public further against the technology and its leaders, including Anthropic…

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Was Hegseth’s decision to carry out a live televised execution inspired by Charlie Kirk?

Was Hegseth’s decision to carry out a live televised execution inspired by Charlie Kirk?

Pete Hegseth’s announcement that former US Army major Nidal Hasan will be executed by a firing squad and that this will be televised, was made during an interview with far-right commentator, Jack Posobiec. In 2024, Posobiec took part in Charlie Kirk’s weekly panel discussion, ThoughtCrime: Charlie Kirk: "This is my problem with the death penalty, it takes too long, too many appeals. It should be quick, it should be public, it should be televised" https://t.co/GPJTiwQivI — Jack Posobiec (@JackPosobiec) October…

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‘Medieval’ and ‘disturbing’: Hegseth plan to livestream execution elicits global condemnation

‘Medieval’ and ‘disturbing’: Hegseth plan to livestream execution elicits global condemnation

The Guardian reports: The US is facing worldwide condemnation over a “barbaric” plan to execute a disabled man by firing squad and livestream it to the public, with critics comparing the Trump administration to dictatorships in Iran and Afghanistan. The Pentagon confirmed on Thursday that the execution of Nidal Malik Hasan, convicted of killing 13 people at a military base at Fort Hood in Texas in 2009, would be livestreamed on 3 December. The United Nations’ office of the high…

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Federal judge shuts down Trump DOJ’s nationwide voter roll crusade, even in states that cooperated

Federal judge shuts down Trump DOJ’s nationwide voter roll crusade, even in states that cooperated

Democracy Docket reports: In a major ruling Friday, a federal judge struck down the Trump administration’s nationwide voter roll campaign, delivering a damaging blow to the Department of Justice’s effort to obtain states’ unredacted voter rolls, compare them against federal data and pressure states to remove voters it deems ineligible. U.S. District Judge Sparkle Sooknanan vacated what DOJ internally called its “list maintenance project,” finding that the department exceeded its statutory authority and violated federal law. The ruling goes far…

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U.S. imposes sanctions on ICC hours after former judge wins Nobel Peace Prize

U.S. imposes sanctions on ICC hours after former judge wins Nobel Peace Prize

Reuters reports: US President Donald Trump’s administration imposed sanctions on the ​International Criminal Court on Friday, hours after one of its former judges won the Nobel Peace Prize, putting Washington on a diplomatic collision course with European allies. The court denounced the ‌move as an “assault on the rule of law and on the very foundations of the international legal order,” and called on its 125 member states to take action to defend it. “The Court cannot stand alone. Its…

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‘Nobody is listening to us’: On the school protest frontline, I heard why France’s students feel disowned

‘Nobody is listening to us’: On the school protest frontline, I heard why France’s students feel disowned

Alexander Hurst writes: When adolescents protest that the government is failing to uphold their right to an education, and the government’s response is to send in riot police, the government has lost the plot. People outside France may have spent the past week watching the student protests in Paris and other cities, and thought, “Well, France has a long tradition of insurrection” or, “That’s just the French being French.” But the situation that has provoked the high-school walkouts and teenage…

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‘Breathtaking,’ ‘devastating’: Mathematics reels after new OpenAI release

‘Breathtaking,’ ‘devastating’: Mathematics reels after new OpenAI release

The New York Times reports: “If a human did this, it would be an instant Fields Medal, no questions asked.” That’s how Alex Kontorovich, chair of the department of mathematics at Rutgers, responded to an A.I.-generated proof that OpenAI, the artificial intelligence giant, released on Tuesday. And that single proof — worthy, in Dr. Kontorovich’s assessment on social media, of arguably the highest honor in the field of mathematics — was just one among more than 350 findings that the…

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