Music: Abdullah Ibrahim — ‘Tintinyana’
What the broligarchs want from Trump
Brooke Harrington writes: After Donald Trump won this month’s election, one of the first things he did was to name two unelected male plutocrats, Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, to run a new Department of Government Efficiency. The yet-to-be-created entity’s acronym, DOGE, is something of a joke—a reference to a cryptocurrency named for an internet meme involving a Shiba Inu. But its appointed task of reorganizing the federal bureaucracy and slashing its spending heralds a new political arrangement in Washington:…
Trump is running his transition team on dark money
The New York Times reports: President-elect Donald J. Trump is keeping secret the names of the donors who are funding his transition effort, a break from tradition that could make it impossible to see what interest groups, businesses or wealthy people are helping launch his second term. Mr. Trump has so far declined to sign an agreement with the Biden administration that imposes strict limits on that fund-raising in exchange for up to $7.2 million in federal funds earmarked for…
Huge election year worldwide sees weakening commitment to act on climate crisis
The Guardian reports: An unprecedented year of elections around the world has underscored a sobering trend – in many countries the commitment to act on the climate crisis has either stalled or is eroding, even as disasters and record temperatures continue to mount. So far 2024, called the “biggest election year in human history” by the United Nations with around half the world’s population heading to the polls, there have been major wins for Donald Trump, the US president-elect who…
Foreign nationals propel U.S. science. Visa limits under Trump could change that
NPR reports: Foreign-born workers account for about half of the doctoral-level scientists and engineers working in the U.S. Many were initially hired under H-1B visas, which are granted to as many as 85,000 highly skilled specialists each year, allowing them to work in the U.S. for up to six years. But the incoming Trump administration has signaled that it will crack down on H-1B visas, which could make it harder for universities, research institutions, and tech firms in the U.S….
Bluesky is turning into a strong X alternative
Kevin Roose writes: After an hour or so of scrolling through Bluesky the other night, I felt something I haven’t felt on social media in a long time: free. Free from Elon Musk, and his tedious quest to turn X into a right-wing echo chamber where he and his friends are the permanent, inescapable main characters. Free from Threads and its suffocating algorithm, which suppresses news and real-time discussions in favor of bland engagement bait. Free from my own bad…
Social media addiction led Elon Musk to buy the platform
In three hours last night, he posted over 125 times. And he's still at it… pic.twitter.com/zzr2gaTvfM — Hoodlum 🇺🇸 (@NotHoodlum) November 24, 2024 Sam Harris comments on Musk’s social media addiction in this conversation with Tim Miller.
Scientists reveal the shape of a single photon for the first time
SciTechDaily reports: A groundbreaking quantum theory has allowed researchers to define the exact shape of a single photon for the first time. Scientists at the University of Birmingham, whose work is featured in Physical Review Letters, have delved into the intricate behavior of photons — individual particles of light. Their research reveals how photons are emitted by atoms or molecules and how their shape is influenced by the surrounding environment. This complex interaction gives rise to infinite possibilities for light…
Music: Abdullah Ibrahim — ‘Maraba Blue’
I watched Orbán destroy Hungary’s democracy. Here’s my advice for the Trump era
Gábor Scheiring writes: Many believed that after his first term as president, Donald Trump would end up in the dustbin of history. Now Trump is back, and the United States is about to be ruled for the second time by a right-wing populist. Trump’s goal this time is to remake the American government to enhance his power. He isn’t the first modern right-wing populist to attempt this — he is following a playbook pioneered by Hungary’s Viktor Orbán. I lived…
Sebastian Gorka and his hard-right views on Islam head back to the White House
The Washington Post reports: Sebastian Gorka, the pugilistic commentator who leveraged fears about Islam as a threat to Western civilization into a short-lived role in the first Trump administration, is poised for a second run inside the White House. Gorka was tapped to serve as deputy assistant to the president and senior director for counterterrorism, president-elect Donald Trump said Friday night. Previously, Gorka was an adviser on national security matters for Trump for seven months until his abrupt exit. The…
Tulsi Gabbard, Trump’s intel pick, was placed on government watch list for overseas travel and foreign connections
CNN reports: Tulsi Gabbard, Donald Trump’s pick to lead the intelligence community, was briefly placed on a Transportation Security Administration list that prompts additional security screening before flights after her overseas travel patterns and foreign connections triggered a government algorithm earlier this year, three sources familiar with the matter told CNN. Gabbard was quickly removed from the list, a little-known program called “Quiet Skies,” after going public with claims she had been added to a “secret terror watchlist.” A federal…
Elon Musk cyberbullies a federal worker while showcasing his own ignorance
Futurism reports: Elon Musk has it out for federal employees. He’s promised to fire them en masse in a bid to cut down government spending by trillions of dollars, and he plans to do this through DOGE, or the Department of Government Efficiency, a commission that will be formed as part of president-elect Donald Trump’s administration. That much is old news. But as The Wall Street Journal now reports, Musk has taken his animus to another level by cruelly singling…
Team Trump is furious Hegseth hid sex assault claim: ‘This is the f–king Pentagon!’
Rolling Stone reports: Matt Gaetz may have withdrawn his name from consideration to become Donald Trump’s attorney general over sexual misconduct accusations — but alleged sexual abuser Pete Hegseth is still fighting to persuade Republican senators to confirm him to one of the most powerful positions in government. Hegseth was already facing an uphill confirmation battle to become the Secretary of Defense given that he is best known as a Fox News host with no government experience. The emergence of…
Lori Chavez-DeRemer, Trump’s pro-labor pick for labor secretary
The Associated Press reports: President-elect Donald Trump on Friday named Oregon Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer to lead the Department of Labor in his second administration, elevating a Republican congresswoman who has strong support from unions in her district but lost reelection in November. Chavez-DeRemer will have to be confirmed by the Senate, which will be under Republican control when Trump takes office on Jan. 20, 2025, and can formally send nominations to Capitol Hill. Here are things to know about the…
Transhumanism: The AI death cult ruling Silicon Valley
Àlex Gómez-Marín writes: In 1963 there was an exhibition at the Bronx Zoo in New York City. It was entitled “The Most Dangerous Animal in the World”. In it, next to a window with bars, the following text could be read: “You are looking at the most dangerous animal in the world. It alone of all the animals that ever lived can exterminate (and has) entire species of animals. Now it has the power to wipe out all life on…