From “don’t be evil” to abetting a genocide for profit: that’s what it means to be “googley” today.

High street slot machine shops, owned by Merkur, are paying their staff bonuses linked to how much gamblers lose.

Companies chase profits by spreading misery, exploiting vulnerable people

Gambling Commission must shut down these parasites.

A billion dollars is the socio-political equivalent of a loose nuke, and we should work as ruthlessly and diligently to prevent the acquisition of the former as we do the latter.

This whole section really.

CHATGPT: I understand where you're coming from. You worked really hard to get here, and now it's time to enjoy the fruit of your labors.

ISILDUR: So I should keep it? Elrond says I shouldn't

CHATGPT: The ring is precious. Sometimes friends don't have your best interests at heart.

ISILDUR: true

This is the point I am constantly repeating, and that AI booster seek to obscure; every single “ability” demonstrated by an LLM is there because humans already put enough examples of it online.

I have a new piece on the politics of discounting in the latest @nybooks.com, hopefully of interest to some.
www.nybooks.com/articles/202...

Athletic Club Bilbao hosted Palestinian refugees at San Mames Stadium in a moving tribute followed by a standing ovation.

such a good episode

This sweeping discussion is focused on the US, but there's so much that's directly relevant to the UK's dysfunctional political economy. Covers so much ill have to listen twice I think.

NEW: UK asked Apple to backdoor iCloud encryption.

Backdoors create a massive target for hackers & criminal groups.

Dictators will inevitably demand that Apple do the same for them. 1/

www.ft.com/content/d101...

If you work for the Labour Party and have just enough of a human soul left in you to be embarrassed by this then you should simply quit your job and state publicly your reasons for doing so rather than engaging in anonymous but salaried whinging about how people - rightly! - do not like you anymore

They started talking about mortality at one point and it was GOOD for the energy in the booth.

Italy was on strike in solidarity with Palestinians last Monday.
Hundreds of thousands demonstrated blocking roads, ports & railway stations. In Rome, many drivers found themselves stuck in traffic — & were happy about it, saluting demonstrators & condemning Israel’s genocide against Palestinians.

A BBC investigation finds asylum seekers trapped in dilapidated hotels, spending years in administrative limbo, indebted to criminal gangs and yes, moved arbitrarily so that they have to take taxis across the country for routine GP appointments.

Government response? Stop the taxis.

🔴 NEW: Larry Ellison’s £257m bet on Tony Blair

Our investigation with @lighthousereports.com reveals how the Tony Blair Institute has been accused of pushing the interests of tech tycoon Ellison — Trump’s “CEO of everything” — and his company Oracle

democracyforsale.substack.com/p/inside-the...

@parismarx.com you might find this interesting

Far right discourse is already the norm in the UK. Here is Nick Robinson trying to find a middle ground with people who have called for the death of asylum seekers while making no mention - not once - of the 1000 or so people arrested for supporting Palestine Action.

www.bbc.com/news/article...

Chiefs have lost 3 games in past 18 seasons when allowing fewer than 220 yards:
20-17 vs Eagles, today
20-14 vs #Raiders, Christmas 2023
13-10 vs Raiders, 9/20/2009

Israel’s three largest arms corporations, which all supply the Israeli military, have been allowed by the UK government to exhibit at the DSEI London arms fair in September:

🇮🇱 Elbit Systems
🇮🇱 Israel Aerospace Industries
🇮🇱 Rafael

caat.org.uk/data/arms-fa...

I dug into the Israeli entities that have received EU funding. Here’s what I found -
www.irishtimes.com/world/middle...

There are two basic facts that are essential to understanding global climate policy:

1) The preferred geopolitical weapon of the modern US empire has been the imposition of energy starvation.

2) The primary strategic vulnerability of China is that they are reliant upon energy imports.

It’s so fucked that we have normalised this notion that the people bringing you your food are so apparently unpalatable that they cannot even be allowed to step a toe into the establishment you’ve ordered from in case a Proper Person is inconvenienced or alarmed by their presence