The only free cheese is in the mousetrap
… Poet Mary Jo Bang reaches the end of her 20-year journey through Dante's 'Divine Comedy'
Today we launched a website to track how much Trump plays golf. TrumpGolfTrack.com
Five Companies Now Control Over 90% of the Global Food Delivery Market Ramnz
Eight Adorable Minutes of Baby Animals in the Wild Laughing Squid
Janet Borchardt is listed in the following standard biographical references:
Wired no paywall: “First Google and Facebook, then the world. Under Trump 2.0, US statecraft is starting to mimic the worst tendencies of Big Tech….Back in 2022, Cory Doctorow coined the term “enshittification” to describe a cycle that has played out again and again in the online economy. Entrepreneurs start off making high-minded promises to get new users to try their platforms. But once users, vendors, and advertisers have been locked in—by network effects, insurmountable collective action problems, high switching costs—the tactics change. The platform owners start squeezing their users for everything they can get, even as the platform fills with ever more low-quality slop.
Then they start squeezing vendors and advertisers too. People don’t usually think of military hardware, the US dollar, and satellite constellations as platforms. But that’s what they are. When American allies buy advanced military technologies such as F-35 fighter jets, they’re getting not just a plane but the associated suite of communications technologies, parts supply, and technological support. When businesses engage in global finance and trade, they regularly route their transactions through a platform called the dollar clearing system, administered by just a handful of US-regulated institutions.
And when nations need to establish internet connectivity in hard-to-reach places, chances are they’ll rely on a constellation of satellites—Starlink—run by a single company with deep ties to the American state, Elon Musk’s SpaceX. As with Facebook and Amazon, American hegemony is sustained by network logic, which makes all these platforms difficult and expensive to break away from…”
Why monkeys—and humans—can’t look away from social conflict Science Daily
Why Science Hasn’t Solved Consciousness (Yet)Nomea
"Fear is the tool of a tyrant, wielded to suppress independent thought."
Just 1.6% of all world’s adults own 48.1% of all the world’s personal wealth Michael Robert’s Blog
Retirement Then, Now, and Next The New School
Late Baby Boomers, Generation X and Millennials are retiring under worse conditions than Early Baby Boomers. Later generations will likely face even worse retirement conditions due to pending and proposed policy changes. In order to provide later generations with the same level of retirement security as Late Baby Boomers, Congress must act to increase Social Security revenue, expand Medicaid and Medicare, and rebuild trust in the retirement system
How SpaceX is blocking astronomers’ view of spaceMusk Watch
Tabb Forum: “Forget AI world domination, for the moment – the real story is how it’s making us better. But are you worried AI will make a “tool” out of you? Andrew Dunn, Practice Lead at Streets Consulting, cuts through the hype, exploring AI’s immense power alongside its limitations, and looks at why human intelligence remains essential, even in an AI-enabled world
Axios: “The U.S. Secret Service denied multiple requests for additional resources from President Trump‘s detail during his campaign, according to a new report on the Butler, Pennsylvania, assassination attempt. The big picture: The report released Sunday from the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs detailed a “disturbing pattern of communications failures and negligence” that led to the death of a rally-goer and sparked intense scrutiny into USSS protocols.
What they’re saying: Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), the chairman of the committee that compiled the new report, said on CBS News’ “Face the Nation” Sunday that former Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle “did not tell the truth” when she testified to Congress that no security assets were denied for the rally.
NASA Astronaut Snaps Rare Sprite Flash From Space and It’s Blowing Minds ZME Science
Swedish bodyguards reveal PM’s location on fitness app Politico
Watching your trash: Local city using AI-equipped trucks to scan recycling Dayton Daily News
Federal News Network: “Hundreds of federal agency websites are being targeted for elimination, following a governmentwide review. In an analysis led by the General Services Administration, the 24 largest departments and agencies inventoried more than 7,200 total websites.
LA journalists reflect on protest attacks Freedom of the Press Foundation
Whereabouts unknown of Ibrahim Helmy at the centre of ICAC inquiry into transport kickbacks
Former Transport for NSW employee Ibrahim Helmy is under investigation by the Independent Commission Against Corruption for allegedly rigging the awarding of $343 million in transport contracts.
ICAC is investigating and authorities don't know where Mr Helmy is.
Youth Sports Are a $40 Billion Business. Private Equity Is Taking Notice. New York Times
Millions of tonnes of toxic sewage sludge spread on UK farmland every year Guardian
Weedkiller ingredient widely used in US can damage organs and gut bacteria, research shows Guardian