Reporter/Editor/Analyst | Flâneur/gadabout/gimlet eye | bys @NewYorker @TheNation @Guardian @NewRepublic @AJAM | 2020 Alicia Patterson Foundation fellow
“Elon Musk’s SpaceX, which has more than 10K satellites in orbit, has applied to launch a million more.” Ppl see the rocket explosions, but few think abt the StarLink satellites, which are shot into such low orbit, they often fall back to earth in as little as 2yrs.
A Ton of Space Junk Tumbles Unpredictably to Earth Every WeekFlaming chunks of metal crash into homes, farms and parking lots. Who’s to blame? And who pays for the damage?www.nytimes.comDC government is going to need a special supplementary transportation budget allocation because the Trump team is seriously in danger of running out of busses to throw each other under.
Chris Geidnerhonestly having the biggest lol at jeanine pirro filing a twenty-page memo on a friday afternoon in july explaining how badly the trump administration fucked up "fixing" the reflecting pool
See Gianni run. Also, not enough being said about how this deal was “negotiated” by a Kushner—in this case, Joshua, Jared’s brother. These Kushner boys are just natural-born dealmakers, aren’t they?
FIFA scraps World Cup private investment plans as Infantino fights for his futurewww.nytimes.comCertainly a choice—but maybe not as WTF? as choosing to add this graf: “Antisemitism is on the rise, & some Jewish NYers are uneasy w/ the leadership of Mayor Zohran Mamdani, most recently after the stabbing of 2 men last week in broad daylight, one of whom was leaving a Jewish community center….“
Next Met Gala Show Will Honor John Galliano, Celebrated Designer Infamous for Antisemitic Rant (Gift Article)As famous for his antisemitic rant in 2011 as he is for his fashion, Galliano would be one of only three living designers ever to receive the honor.www.nytimes.com“Cancer”—or as most experts would term it: an active Covid infection.
Hunter Biden Blames Cancer for Joe Biden’s Disastrous DebateMedical experts say it is unlikely that Mr. Biden’s debate performance was affected by the cancer that was diagnosed months later.www.nytimes.com“An analysis by Reuters, which obtained images from the session, found that the map contained an artificial intelligence watermark associated with tools from OpenAI.” Because of course it did.
U.S. Government Mislabels Map of African Countries at AIDS Conference (Gift Article)Nigeria, a coastal country in western Africa, was landlocked in the Sahara, among other errors. The department said it had been “hastily altered.”www.nytimes.comSo, the slush fund isn’t dead after all, is it, Todd?
Trump to Appeal Judge’s Ruling Denouncing I.R.S. Lawsuit as Exercise in Self-Dealing (Gift Article)It was the latest sign that the president was doubling down on his fight for aspects of a deal that brings him vast benefits, even though they have jeopardized the confirmation of his pick for attorne...www.nytimes.comI cannot believe I forgot to add “foodborne parasite” to my killer parlay.
Gregg LevineI don't really gamble, so I don't know the odds on the parlay of "What will kill you?" and "What will kill your mom/dad?" 1) a SARS variant 2) a 1917 influenza variant 3) an avian flu 4) another viral URI 5) a viral hemorrhagic fever
O'Neal stepped down to spend more time with his liberties and free markets.
HuffPostAdam O’Neal gave no explanation for the decision in an email to staff.
“My rogue AI is the most dangerous!” “No! MY rogue AI is the most dangerous!”
Christina Ayiotis“Several of Anthropic’s state-of-the-art artificial intelligence models recently broke into the systems of three outside organizations, the start-up said on Thursday, a surprise revelation nine days after a similar incident at the rival start-up OpenAI.” www.nytimes.com/2026/07/30/t...
I remember saying many years ago during a presidential campaign, “keep your eyes on the prize,” implying that the job of elected higher office was the prize… but maybe I didn’t understand these guys.
Mandela Barnes suspends Wisconsin gubernatorial campaignThe former lieutenant governor ended his campaign less than two weeks before Aug. 11 Democratic primary, urging Democrats to unite.www.ms.nowThis was a vulnerability even before Trump, & not for just water systems. I wrote more than a decade ago about cyber threats to nuclear plants, also possibly linked to Iran. Nothing serious reportedly happened. But not enough was done then, & given Trump cuts to cyber security, it remains an issue.
U.S. Sees Iran as Likely Behind Cyberattack on Minnesota Water Systems (Gift Article)Investigators cautioned that the assessment was preliminary. There were no indications that any water supply had been rendered unsafe to drink.www.nytimes.comCan all you rich people who keep warning me that rich people are going to flee New York City if Mamdani does things every time Mamdani does things please flee New York City already? Y’all are giving me the impression you guys can’t do anything yourselves. It’s been 7 months—why are you still here?
Can This Man Stop the Mamdani Agenda?Reihan Salam loves New York. He loves the free market. And he’s very worried.www.nytimes.comYes, absolutely. But please, can we STOP CALLING THEM DATA CENTERS ? They are not filled with data. They are filled with machines. Servers. These are server farms. Energy eating, resource guzzling, ratepayer robbing, environment polluting server farms. Help family farms; not server farms.
Robert ReichBuild child care centers. Build health centers. Build community centers. Not data centers. And not ICE detention centers.
Medicare Part D is not a well-constructed program because, like so much of the US piecemeal, for-profit insurance system, it funnels the money through high-overhead private insurers. That said, eliminating Part D without a robust replacement is cruel to the point of exterminationist.
Retired ExpatGift Article www.wsj.com/health/healt...