Yesterday it dawned foggy, by 11AM the sky was clear, about an hour later it was cloudy, and this morning we are having light rain. So no gardening or walking today. My sweetie made raisin pancakes for breakfast, with plenty of our home-made raisins. -----Alan
After spending about $277 million to back Donald Trump’s bid for the presidency, Musk has become something of a shadow vice president. But it’s not just Musk’s political donations that are driving his influence forward. As his successful tirade against the spending bill illustrates, Musk also has outsize power to control how information is disseminated. To quote Shoshana Zuboff, an academic who has written about tech overreach and surveillance, Musk is an “information oligarch.” Since buying Twitter in 2022 and turning it into X, Musk has reportedly used the platform to inflate the reach of his posts (and thereby his own influence on discourse). Since July, his posts on X have received more than 16 times the number of views as all of the accounts of incoming congressional members combined. He also appears to have transformed the platform to boost conservative posts, in accordance with his own political aims. -- nordy
Blue sky, clear, no breeze; we shall go for a walk at 3PM. There are a number of egrets standing alongside the lake in the river bottom, and a flock of white pelicans cruising around on the lake. I seems a slightly odd time of year for the pelicans to come through; they come through heading south when Canada becomes too cold, then head north from southern or Baja California in the spring. -----Alan
Guardian: The Great Capitulation When “Justice for All”, a dirge-like version of the national anthem sung by defendants jailed over their alleged roles in the January 6, 2021 insurrection, was played last month at Mar-a-Lago in Florida, guests stood with hand on heart.
Among them was Mark Zuckerberg, the billionaire founder of Facebook.
Although it is not clear if Zuckerberg knew the back story of how this tinny version version of The Star-Spangled Banner was recorded over a prison phone line, his mere presence at Donald Trump’s “winter White House” said it all. Facebook had banned Trump after the shocking events of January 6. Now Zuckerberg had come to kiss the ring.
He is far from alone in what has been dubbed “the great capitulation” following Trump’s re-election. Tech chief executives, media organisations and foreign leaders are seeking the president-elect’s favor through donations, self-censorship and appeasement. Analysts say the surrender is driven by a combination of greed, fear of Trump’s unfettered power and a belief that resistance is futile. - nordy
Yesterday it dawned foggy, by 11AM the sky was clear, about an hour later it was cloudy, and this morning we are having light rain. So no gardening or walking today. My sweetie made raisin pancakes for breakfast, with plenty of our home-made raisins.
ReplyDelete-----Alan
YUM!!
DeleteNews video: Northerner terrifies Londoners by saying "Hello" [Click] The comments thread is well worth reading (at least in part— it is very long).
ReplyDelete——Alan
Elon Musk’s X Endgame
ReplyDeleteAli Breland
The Atlantic
After spending about $277 million to back Donald Trump’s bid for the presidency, Musk has become something of a shadow vice president. But it’s not just Musk’s political donations that are driving his influence forward. As his successful tirade against the spending bill illustrates, Musk also has outsize power to control how information is disseminated. To quote Shoshana Zuboff, an academic who has written about tech overreach and surveillance, Musk is an “information oligarch.”
Since buying Twitter in 2022 and turning it into X, Musk has reportedly used the platform to inflate the reach of his posts (and thereby his own influence on discourse). Since July, his posts on X have received more than 16 times the number of views as all of the accounts of incoming congressional members combined. He also appears to have transformed the platform to boost conservative posts, in accordance with his own political aims. -- nordy
Blue sky, clear, no breeze; we shall go for a walk at 3PM. There are a number of egrets standing alongside the lake in the river bottom, and a flock of white pelicans cruising around on the lake. I seems a slightly odd time of year for the pelicans to come through; they come through heading south when Canada becomes too cold, then head north from southern or Baja California in the spring.
ReplyDelete-----Alan
Oh, there are also some smaller water birds on the lake--- ducks maybe?
Delete----Alan
Beautiful image!
DeleteWe saw buebirds at the feeders in Maine!
Guardian: The Great Capitulation
ReplyDeleteWhen “Justice for All”, a dirge-like version of the national anthem sung by defendants jailed over their alleged roles in the January 6, 2021 insurrection, was played last month at Mar-a-Lago in Florida, guests stood with hand on heart.
Among them was Mark Zuckerberg, the billionaire founder of Facebook.
Although it is not clear if Zuckerberg knew the back story of how this tinny version version of The Star-Spangled Banner was recorded over a prison phone line, his mere presence at Donald Trump’s “winter White House” said it all. Facebook had banned Trump after the shocking events of January 6. Now Zuckerberg had come to kiss the ring.
He is far from alone in what has been dubbed “the great capitulation” following Trump’s re-election. Tech chief executives, media organisations and foreign leaders are seeking the president-elect’s favor through donations, self-censorship and appeasement. Analysts say the surrender is driven by a combination of greed, fear of Trump’s unfettered power and a belief that resistance is futile. - nordy
"version version" not worth saying twice. -- nordy
DeleteYeuuucccchhhh! I can't imagine how anyone could do that.
DeleteEvidence of huge bolide impact in southern Ontario around the beginning of the Younger Dryas Period [Click] Wow.
ReplyDelete——Alan
We made it safely there and back again!
ReplyDeleteGot home and it was -4ºF!
ReplyDeleteExcellent temperature for storing ice cream!
Delete----Alan