Here is the daily technology #threadcast for 2/26/25. The goal is to make this a technology "reddit".
Drop all question, comments, and articles relating to #technology and the future. The goal is make it a technology center.
Here is the daily technology #threadcast for 2/26/25. The goal is to make this a technology "reddit".
Drop all question, comments, and articles relating to #technology and the future. The goal is make it a technology center.
Starlink May Win $2B Air Traffic Communications Contract
A satellite company owned by Elon Musk has the inside track to potentially take over a large federal contract to modernize the nation’s air traffic communications system.
Equipment from Musk’s Starlink has been installed in Federal Aviation Administration facilities as a prelude to a takeover of a $2 billion contract held by Verizon, according to government employees, contractors and people familiar with the work.
Musk said that the network used by air traffic controllers is aging and requires drastic and quick action to modernize it.
“The Verizon system is not working and so is putting air travelers at serious risk,” Musk on Monday posted on X, the social media site he has owned since 2022.
#elonmusk #starlink #airtraffic #telecommunications
The emergence of Starlink as a potential replacement for the Verizon-led effort underscores the extraordinary conflicts of interest inherent in Musk’s position as both a senior White House adviser to President Donald Trump and a business mogul in charge of a sprawling array of companies. It is not clear what role Musk might be playing in helping Starlink parent company SpaceX win such business.
“There’s very limited transparency,” said Jessica Tillipman, a contracting law expert at George Washington University. Referring to Musk, she said: “Without that transparency, we have no idea how much non-public information he has access to or what role he’s playing in what contracts are being awarded.”
Former FAA officials also told The Associated Press that they were alarmed at the prospect of Starlink being used as a critical part of the nation’s aviation system without adequate testing, review and debate about its benefits and drawbacks.
definitely another win for Musk. Dude is slowly taking over everything man, like for real, from space to internet, cars, now air traffic 👀 Next thing you know, we’ll be flying Teslas instead of planes
Nvidia Results Offer Window Into AI Spending
Quarterly earnings from AI darling Nvidia is Wednesday's marquee event for markets, with much riding on the chipmaker to deliver results that could placate investors who are questioning hefty spending in artificial intelligence.
Investors have begun second-guessing U.S. tech giants since Chinese startup DeepSeek rattled the industry with AI technology ostensibly cheaper yet as capable as that of early leaders.
#ai #spending #nvidia #compute
Market estimates have Nvidia's fourth-quarter sales at $38.5 billion and first-quarter guidance around $42.5 billion.
As usual, options point to a share price move of around 8% in either direction should the results surprise.
"This earnings report isn't just about Nvidia... It's about whether the AI revolution can maintain its breakneck pace," said Saxo's global head of investment strategy, Jacob Falkencrone.
Alleviating concern of DeepSeek triggering a slide in AI chip demand, sources have told Reuters of Chinese companies increasing orders for Nvidia's H20 chip due to booming demand for low-cost AI models.
Well if they do it, AI hype keeps rolling. If they flop, tech stocks might wobble a bit. Also, DeepSeek will still be coming in with the we do it cheaper thing and that's still going to be a competition I guess
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DeepSeek's model is open source, like Alibaba's, meaning it can be downloaded and modified by others.
Open source differs from proprietary models such as those created by OpenAI and do not produce revenue for companies. Open sourcing a technology serves a number of purposes, including driving innovation and building a community around a product.
A debate is currently swirling about whether AI models will become commoditized.
Modi wants Tesla to build cars in India. Making the plan work may not be easy
Tesla is reportedly recruiting and scouting showroom locations in the country, following a meeting between Prime Minister Modi and Elon Musk earlier this month.
India has been striving to become a global manufacturing hub, having successfully invited major companies such as Apple to set up as well as expand production in the country.
To further bolster its manufacturing prowess, the South Asian nation has been eyeing Tesla to set up its base in the country. And the carmaker that has appeared reluctant for long is now signaling interest in the market as the Indian government attempts to welcome it by implementing a new EV tariff policy.
This relaxation only applies to premium EVs priced at over $35,000 and requires investments totaling nearly $500 million and long-term plans to set up local manufacturing.
The EV policy represents a targeted move to appeal to Tesla's business interests, signaling India's readiness to support EV manufacturing, Ammar Master, a South Asia director of Automotive at GlobalData, told CNBC.
"The Indian government has been proactive in its attempts to lure Tesla into establishing its manufacturing base in India," he said.
The automaker, however, faces several headwinds to breaking into the world's third-largest auto market.
Meanwhile, Tesla has yet to signal significant interest in setting up a manufacturing base in the country, with its recent job openings consisting of mostly consumer-facing positions.
Additionally, geopolitical barriers may influence Telsa's decision to produce cars in India under the new Donald Trump administration. In an interview alongside Tesla CEO Elon Musk last week, President Trump said that Tesla manufacturing in India would be "very unfair."
The company has also been working on completing the production of manufacturing plants in Germany and Texas.
Some local media sources in India have reported that government may further tweak the EV policy to attract Tesla considers the market.
"Even if they commit to the current proposal, it will be after six months or so," added Gupta.
However, while the Indian EV market remains small, getting a foothold there could be a valuable endeavor for Tesla as it looks for new markets amid intense competition with Chinese EV makers such as BYD.
"With the current momentum, we project that Passenger BEV sales in India will reach 1 million units by 2030, accounting for 20% of total sales," said GlobalData's Ammar Master.
Last year, after the company delayed its annual report, it lost its auditor, Ernst & Young, citing governance issues. Super Micro had until Tuesday to become current and file audited financials with the SEC.
Super Micro said in a note from management as part of the filing that it had identified material weaknesses in internal controls over financial reporting, including IT issues, a lack of documentation over manual journal entries and insufficient controls to address segregation of staff duties. Super Micro said that it is hiring additional accounting and audit employees, as well as upgrading its IT systems.
Last month, Perplexity AI also made a bid to merge with TikTok U.S. as the social media platform faces a potential U.S. shutdown.
The company sees a potential investing advantage when it comes to startups because roughly 80,000 developers are plugged into its network, so Perplexity gets visibility into who is using its application programming interface, or API, and who is most active in their consumption, the person said.
Perplexity's founders and investors are putting money into the fund, and some of the company's commitment is in the form of stock, the source said.
DeepSeek itself is accelerating the launch of the successor to the R1 model that put the startup on the map last month, three people familiar with the company told Reuters.
R2 is likely to worry the U.S. government which regards AI leadership as a national priority.
That country's technology war with China is set to intensify with the administration of President Donald Trump planning tougher restrictions on semiconductor exports to China.
Trump has already signed a memorandum restricting Chinese investment in the U.S. in strategic areas.
It was strongly opposed by hospital groups who unsuccessfully challenged it in court. They argue it forces them to disclose private negotiations with insurers, undermining competition and violating their First Amendment free speech rights, a claim rejected by the court.
American Airlines did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the go-around at Washington National.
The past few weeks have seen four major aviation disasters in North America. They include the Feb. 6 crash of a commuter plane in Alaska that killed all 10 people on board and the Jan. 26 midair collision between an Army helicopter and an American Airlines flight at National Airport that killed all 67 aboard the two aircraft.
A medical transport jet with a child patient, her mother and four others aboard crashed Jan. 31 into a Philadelphia neighborhood. That crash killed seven people, including all those aboard, and injured 19 others.
Strategists said they expect solid corporate earnings growth to continue to support gains in equities, and they see a possible boost to the economy if Trump, who took office on January 20, goes ahead with his pro-growth agenda for tax cuts and deregulation.
But they say tariffs threaten to add inflationary pressures at a time when the Federal Reserve has paused its rate-cutting cycle.
"The economy is growing, inflation has been sticky but it's much lower than it was just six months or a year ago, and corporate profits are growing," said Anthony Saglimbene, chief market strategist at Ameriprise Financial in Troy, Michigan, which has a 6,500 "base case" year-end forecast for the S&P 500.
The cuts are being carried out under the direction of Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency.
Moreover, Trump has verbally supported Russia as he has pushed for a deal to end Russia's conflict with Ukraine, and has denounced the Ukrainian president as a dictator, creating alarm among some investors about relations between the U.S. and the rest of the world.
When asked whether a stock market correction of at least 10% is likely in the coming three months, 13 of 19 poll participants who answered the question said it was likely or highly likely, while six said it was unlikely.
"Those with a short-term horizon, they could be a little rattled by volatility. We just have so many unknowns as we start 2025," said Kristina Hooper, chief global market strategist at Invesco in New York. She expects the S&P 500 to end this year at 6,360.
Government ethics laws require that people who could profit from government work either recuse themselves from specific projects or first sell their financial holdings or sever ties with the company that could benefit. Waivers can be granted by the heads of government departments or other officials, but only in limited circumstances.
Ted Malaska, a senior director of application software at SpaceX, got a waiver along with two software engineers, Brady Glantz and Thomas Kiernan, according to the waiver list and LinkedIn profiles. The AP could not determine if the three are still working for SpaceX or the precise nature of work for the federal government.
Malaska posted on social media on Thursday that he had been meeting at FAA headquarters with officials responsible for implementation of the telecommunications modernization.
The Carneia was an ancient Doric festival held to worship Apollo Carneios, the most highly revered god of the Peloponnese. It began on the seventh day of the month of Carneios (July/August) and lasted nine days. Few details about the festival survive, but it is known that nine tents were pitched near the city, inhabited by nine men who lived like soldiers. A priest conducted sacrifices with the help of five unmarried men from each Spartan tribe chosen as his ministers. Some of them were labeled staphylodromoi ("grape-cluster runners"). During the festival, they chased a man wearing a garland, and, if they caught him, it meant good luck for the coming harvest.
The Spartans actually had nine festivals each year and no wars could be fought during any of them. The Carneia was the most important of the nine.
The move is part of broad efforts by President Donald Trump to crack down on illegal immigration through mass deportations and border security. Previously, illegal immigrants were committing a civil offense and could be detained and deported but weren't considered to have committed a crime, according to the Journal. Those who qualify but fail to register could be fined up to $5,000 and sentenced to up to six months in prison.
The administration's plans rely on provisions of immigration law that have proved impractical to enforce, according to the Journal. Pursuing cases against alleged offenders could tie up prosecutorial resources and swell the prison population, and illegal immigrants rarely have the means to pay such hefty fines, experts told the Journal.
President George W. Bush created a similar immigration registry after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, when his administration required men and boys from predominantly Muslim countries to submit photographs and fingerprints to the federal government, the Journal reported. Tens of thousands of people who registered under that program were arrested and deported.
But any savings have been outweighed so far by higher spending on health and retirement programs and rising interest payments, Treasury Department spending records show.
Overall, the government spent about $710 billion between Jan. 21 and Feb. 20, Treasury daily spending data shows, up from the roughly $630 billion during a comparable period last year. Independent budget experts said the figures illustrate the relentless pressures incurred by an aging population and a ballooning debt load.
Musk and Trump have said they aim to reduce the $6.7 trillion federal budget by $1 trillion, but Trump has also promised not to reduce benefits for seniors who get Social Security retirement payments and participate in the Medicare health plan. Those two programs accounted for more than one third of federal dollars spent in the last fiscal year. While they are projected to eat up more of the budget as the population ages, trimming them would anger millions of Americans.
"There is no way to meet their goals without hitting the third rail," said Lauren Bauer, a researcher at the Brookings Institution who tracks the Treasury Department's daily spending statements.
Musk has said he will scrutinize both programs for fraud, but his attempts to scrutinize sensitive payment and personnel records have raised security and privacy fears. On Wednesday, 21 career workers in DOGE resigned in protest, saying the agency had mishandled Americans' private data.
!summarize #fat #health #physique
Trump can do little to reduce debt service payments, which accounted for 13% of the budget last year, without risking a default that would rattle the global financial system.
The government paid about $94 billion in interest payments during Trump's first month, compared to around $80 billion in the comparable period last year, Treasury data shows.
A White House official, briefing reporters on condition of anonymity, said any potential tariff rate would be determined by the investigation, adding that Trump preferred tariffs over quotas.
White House trade adviser Peter Navarro said the investigation would be completed quickly, "in Trump time."
Navarro said China was using state subsidies and economic influence to gain control over global copper production, in much the same way it now dominates steel and aluminum production.
That said, the countries set to be most affected by any new U.S. copper tariffs would be Chile, Canada and Mexico, which were the top suppliers of refined copper and copper articles in 2024, according to U.S. Census Bureau data.
"The best thing for the region would be peace, and … we don't want to have appeasement, we certainly don't want that, and I'm not suggesting that's what the president is trying to do … [but] we need a solution that makes sense for Ukraine and it's probably going to have to also be a solution that makes sense for Russia," Crank said.
The IRS initially revealed that 70,000 returns from 2019 and 2020, including those of President Donald Trump, Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, and Warren Buffett, were stolen. But in a letter to Jordan dated Feb. 14, acting IRS Commissioner Douglas O'Donnell said the IRS "mailed notifications to 405,427 taxpayers whose taxpayer information was inappropriately disclosed by Mr. Littlejohn. Approximately 89% of the taxpayers are business entities."
"This guy, that was his stated objective," Jordan told "The Record With Greta Van Susteren." "He went there as a contractor, his goal, his whole purpose was to release President Trump's tax return and others. And we find out now, it was much worse than we thought, 405,000. Many of them were business entities, but also a lot of individuals.
Now Helots were forced to till plots of land for their Spartan overseers. Half of the profit from the harvest went to the Helot and the other half was given to Sparta. Some 9,000 of these individual farms were put into operation. Over time, the Helot workload was expanded to include all manual labor required to run the Polis, releasing the Spartan men for full time military training.
Data from the working group showed that of the $182.8 billion appropriated as of Dec. 31, $83.4 billion was disbursed, and a total of $96.6 billion has either been obligated and not disbursed or appropriated but not yet obligated. Further, $2.7 billion has expired, meaning those funds are no longer available for obligation.
"I don't think the question is that all these billions disappeared in Ukraine due to corruption," Budanov told "American Agenda" through an interpreter from Kyiv in an interview with Newsmax correspondent Zach Anders. "The issue is deeper here. We need to figure out where this money went and where it settled. And it may turn out that it's not just about Ukraine."
"When they talk about corruption, well, listen, it exists everywhere. Every country fights against it. If every country fights against it, that, at the very least, means that it exists in every country."
Budanov added that a year ago, Ukraine was visited by Biden administration officials regarding an "inspection" about how the funds were being spent and that they came up "with acceptable conclusions."
"Let me repeat myself: It's more of a profound matter," he said. "We have to see where the money was channeled at what price. For example, they were procuring ammunition. Who was the real beneficiary? Through which countries was it going? I mean, it's clear everybody was covering themselves with Ukraine. That's going to be unanimous. But was it really Ukraine? That's an open question."
Meanwhile, Budanov was asked about President Donald Trump referring to Zelenskyy as a dictator because Ukraine's president canceled elections.
"It's a political matter, and how the president of America makes his conclusions, it's only known to him," he said. "I personally don't feel well when a president is called a dictator because that means then we all serve a dictatorship, and I don't see myself as an accessory in a dictator's regime."
The Athenian political system, before the reforms, had many elements of a democratic system, but was heavily influenced by the aristocratic class. The principle legislative body was the Assembly (Ecclesia) which consisted of all citizens who came to the assembly meetings. Because of the unwieldy character of so large a group, a council of 500 was created to debate and consider new legislation before it was brought before the assembly.
Governmental administration was handled by ten senior magistrates, called Archons, who were elected by the people. When an Archon’s term of office ended he could become a member of the Areopagas, an aristocratic council of elders who acted as a court of appeal. Lastly, there was a elected board of ten generals who were in charge of commanding the army and navy during time of war. Aristocratic influence was seen in the Council of 500 which was heavily tilted toward the upper class. Archons, themselves, were wealthy aristocrats, and the Areopagas was made up of former Archons.
FBI Probes Alleged Comey Honeypot Plot Against Trump
The FBI is starting an investigation into the agency's plan to infiltrate President Donald Trump's first campaign using two female undercover agents as a honeypot.
According to The Washington Times' initial reporting, the investigation was launched in 2015 by FBI Director James Comey and kept off the books. An FBI whistleblower broke the news of the inquiry to the House Judiciary Committee last year.
The plan was said to involve two undercover female agents who had infiltrated the Trump campaign at high-levels.
FBI Director Kash Patel and deputy Director Dan Bongino are now looking for those once-undercover agents.
Initially, the whistleblower noted that the honeypot was a separate operation from Crossfire Hurricane, and sought to uncover no specific crime but was merely a fishing expedition.
According to a City Journal source, the sex chats were legitimized as part of the NSA's commitment to "diversity, equity, and inclusion" (DEI), and the agents "used LGBTQ+ employee resource groups to turn their kinks and pathologies into official work duties," with the full support of their superiors at the NSA under then-President Joe Biden.
The source said these groups "spent all day" recruiting activists and holding meetings with titles such as "Privilege," "Ally Awareness," "Pride," and "Transgender Community Inclusion."
In addition, NSA leadership reportedly declared that DEI was "not only mission critical, but mission imperative."
Gabbard promised to clean house and confirmed the existence of the chats, which have been destroyed.
Trump: Apple 'Should Get Rid of DEI'
U.S. President Donald Trump Wednesday urged Apple to scrap its diversity, equity and inclusion policies, a day after the iPhone maker's shareholders voted to keep them in the face of growing pushback from conservative groups.
Major U.S. companies, including Meta and Alphabet , have dropped DEI initiatives ahead of and after Trump's return to the U.S. presidency.
Trump has criticized corporate DEI programs as discriminatory and suggested the U.S. Department of Justice could investigate if such efforts violate the law.
"So when the conclave does convene to elect a new Pope, the cardinals are going to be considering, What direction do we want the next Pope to take? A continuation of a more liberalizing path, which is, in fact, very fraught with danger for the Catholic faith because, you know, we believe that what is handed on must be defended," Murray added, "or will we return to … what Pope John Paul II and Benedict gave to the church, which was a vigorous defense of the traditional faith, answering modern concerns but not casting aside the hard teachings of Christianity but rather defending them?"
!summarize #ai #generativeai #cloud #edge #smartphone #devices #technology
Panay says that the improved Alexa can understand tone and the environment around it, and adjust its responses on the fly. “She’s been trained in a couple of different ways, from EQ to humor to understanding,” he added. “She understands I’m a little bit nervous, she’s trying to calm me.”
Aside from tasks like creating quizzes from study guides and crafting basic travel itineraries, Alexa+ can respond to queries such as “What’s the best pizza nearby?” Answers are informed by what’s in Alexa’s “memory” and preferences that Alexa has noted over time.
!summarize #tesla #paint #model #cybercab
So why the disparity between Athens and Rome?
There are both environmental and cultural reasons for this. Rome and the Italian peninsula had similar experiences to Europe in the middle ages with respect to development of their political systems. This similarity is based on two factors: personal leadership and a collective unity and equality of tribesmen. In other words, their political systems grew out of leadership based on personal charisma which encompassed regal, military, and political elements. The society was flat with a leader and his associates on top and everyone as equals below.
The early Greek experience was different because it was influenced by unique factors: tribal kings were weak financially, the Aegean was isolated geographically, and Greek life was simpler than Roman life.
Microsoft notes that, for specific Azure services, customers may have to obtain a professional services data storage commitment. This page outlines the requirements.
EU regulators have spent years flagging concerns about how Microsoft processes the data of users of its cloud services, including in relation to the legal basis Microsoft claims for processing data and a lack of clarity in the wording of its cloud services contracts. To be fair, Microsoft isn’t the only target. In May 2023, Meta was fined $1.3 billion by Ireland’s data privacy watchdog over data transfers to the U.S.
In any political system, stability depends on confidence. If the people believe their system will allow them to achieve their goals in life, they will not look for a change. In the period 140-80 B.C. the common people of Rome became economically disadvantaged and a weakened (or arrogant) Senate did nothing to help them. As a consequence, the people looked to popular leaders, such as Marius, to take control of the republic and make their lives better. During this period there was a enormous amount of violence. Whether or not it was purposeful or just a consequence of the battle for control, does not matter. Violence breaks down the institutions of government and drives the people toward any system that will produce stability. In the end, stability was the dictator, and the dictator held his power by controlling loyalty of the army.
Trump: 'Not Going to Touch' Entitlement Programs
President Donald Trump vowed Wednesday that his administration is "not going to touch" entitlement programs such as Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid, but didn't rule out that spending cuts can come through rooting out fraud and waste in the programs.
"We are going to look for fraud," Trump said during the first cabinet meeting of his second administration, reports CNN. "I'm sure you're okay with that."
He also pointed to reports alleging that "illegal aliens and other criminals" are collecting Social Security payments and to "people that are 200 years old that are being sent checks."
FCC's Carr Prepares to Erode Big Tech Legal Protection
Federal Communications Commission Chair Brendan Carr is preparing to weaken the legal protection known as Section 230 that shields Big Tech companies from liability, according to a report from the New York Post.
Post columnist Charles Gasparino reported that Carr's plan to erode Section 230 could potentially cost some of the world's most profitable companies billions in market value.
Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act of 1996 was written to protect tech companies from being held legally responsible for third-party postings on their platforms, as it was thought that defamation lawsuits over content posted by third parties could crush the fledgling industry.
Cuomo Backers Start Super PAC Ahead of NYC Mayor's Race
Former Democrat New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo's close allies have registered a super PAC that will likely support a campaign for mayor of New York City, The New York Times reports.
Longtime Cuomo adviser Steven M. Cohen led the formation of the PAC, Fix the City, along with LGBT activist Brian Ellner, lobbyist John Cordo, and attorney Mitra Hormozi. Sources told the Times that the group's paid media will be overseen by Bill Knapp, the co-founder of the public affairs firm SKDK who formerly worked on ex-NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg's campaigns.
"There's a strong cadre of people who have made clear to me their interest in being supportive of the former governor's mayoral candidacy," James Whelan, president of the Real Estate Board of New York, told the Times when asked about potential contributors to the super PAC.
Zelenskyy said a news conference early Wednesday in Kyiv that a framework of an economic deal had been reached, but that it did not yet include U.S. security guarantees, which his country sees as vital. The full agreement could hinge on the upcoming talks in Washington.
The framework is a preliminary step toward a comprehensive package that will be subject to ratification by the Ukrainian parliament, Zelenskyy said.
Ukraine needs to know first where the U.S. stands on its continued military support, Zelenskyy said. He said he expected a wide-ranging conversation with Trump.
The economic agreement "may be part of future security guarantees, but I want to understand the broader vision. What awaits Ukraine?" Zelenskyy said.
Why the Roman Republic Failed and What It Means to Us - Part III
Our history of the fall of the Republic now takes us to the last player in the drama – Lucius Cornelius Sulla, a man who had no reservations about destroying the Republic. Sulla never understood that his attempts to fix the Republic could not overcome the things he did to destroy it, so by the time he left the scene, Rome was ready to fall to any power hungry candidate who would be bold enough and strong enough to take it.
Sen. Ernst Rails on Union Work Paid by Taxpayers
Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, is lashing out at the discovery of more than $400,000 spent by NASA on employees doing union work in the last fiscal year.
Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, is lashing out at the discovery of more than $400,000 spent by NASA on employees doing union work in the last fiscal year. Ernst chairs the Senate DOGE (Department of Government Efficiency) Caucus and said allowing federal employees to handle union duties while on the clock amounts to "ripping off taxpayers by an astronomical amount," as reported by the New York Post.
As a third measure, the department is examining the use of vaccines and therapeutics for laying chickens.
Rollins stated that "while vaccines aren't a stand-alone solution, we will provide up to $100 million in research and development of vaccines and therapeutics to improve their efficacy and efficiency," which should help reduce the need to kill chickens on a farm where there is an outbreak.
In addition to combating avian flu, another part of the strategy is to take other actions to lower the price of eggs.
As an example, Rollins said that unnecessary regulatory burdens on egg producers will be removed where possible — including "examining the best way to protect farmers from overly prescriptive state laws, such as California's Proposition 12, which established minimum space requirements for egg-laying hens, increasing production costs and contributing to the Golden State's average price of $9.68 a dozen."
Rollins said that the final part of the plan is to consider temporary import options in order to lower egg costs in the short term.
She stated that this will take place only "if the eggs meet stringent U.S. safety standards and if we determine that doing so won't jeopardize American farmers' access to markets in the future."
Rollins said the Agriculture Department is confident that this overall plan "will restore stability to the egg market over the next three to six months," as well as ensure stability over the next four years and beyond.
Sulla resigned as dictator in 81 and was elected consul. Then in 80 B.C he retired to live in the country and died the following year.
The naïve attempts by Sulla to turn back the clock on the Republic failed completely because he had not taken into account the essential economic and social problems facing the Roman people. His legacy was to empower the leaders of the army to replace the authority of the Republican system whenever they felt inclined to do so. The Senate and the people were about to lose their power forever.
Gov. Walz Won't Run for Open Minn. Senate Seat
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, a Democrat, announced Wednesday he will not run for the state's open Senate seat in 2026.
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, a Democrat, announced Wednesday he will not run for the state's open Senate seat in 2026.
Walz, who was Kamala Harris' running mate in the 2024 presidential election, will consider running for a third term as governor instead.
"He loves his job as Governor and he's exploring the possibility of another term to continue his work to make Minnesota the best state in the country for kids," Teddy Tschann, a spokesperson for Walz, said in a statement.
NYC Mayor Adams Skips Forum, Awaits Ruling on Legal Fate
Citing his lawyer telling him to wait until a federal judge decides how to handle the corruption case against him, New York City Mayor Eric Adams on Wednesday pulled out of a mayoral candidate forum.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams on Wednesday said he pulled out of a mayoral candidate forum after his lawyer told him to wait until a federal judge decides how to handle the corruption case against him.
The Democrat told reporters he would skip the forum, held by District Council 37, the largest municipal union in the city, because his attorney told him to forgo such events until a decision is reached in his criminal case.
Earlier on Wednesday, Adams asked the judge to toss the case, alleging prosecutorial misconduct, even as the Justice Department seeks dismissal of the charges on Adams' behalf.
In papers filed in Manhattan federal court, his lawyers alleged that the misconduct happened when the government publicly leaked a letter then-U.S. Attorney Danielle Sassoon wrote to Attorney General Pam Bondi explaining why charges should not be dropped.
She wrote the letter, offering to resign as she refused to follow acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove's directive to drop the charges against the embattled mayor two weeks ago. Bove accepted the resignation.
Bove had written a letter to Sassoon, saying the mayor was needed to assist President Donald Trump's law-and-order priorities, particularly the fight against illegal immigration and violent crime. He also said the charges were interfering with this year's New York City mayoral race.
The lawyers said the public exposure of the unusual Justice Department internal fight had violated Adams's constitutional rights and interfered with his ability to receive a fair trial.
They said the leaks also violated statutory and court rules, including the Justice Department's longstanding policies designed to prevent prosecutorial misconduct.
A request for comment was made to the Justice Department in Washington. Bove and two Justice Department lawyers are currently trying to get a Manhattan judge to dismiss the charges.
The judge, who has canceled an April trial, has appointed outside counsel to advise him as he decides what to do over the next few weeks.
Call West Bank 'Judea and Samaria,' GOP Staffers Told
Republican staffers were told by House Foreign Affairs Committee chairman Brian Mast to refer to occupied West Bank from now on as "Judea and Samaria," according to an internal memo reviewed by Axios.
The directive, sent to 50 Republican staffers, said the committee will use "Judea and Samaria" in formal correspondence.
Wrote Mast: "In recognition of our unbreakable bond with Israel and the inherent right of the Jewish people to their ancient homeland, the House Foreign Affairs committee will, from here forward, refer to the West Bank as Judea and Samaria in formal correspondence, communication and documentation.
"Jewish roots in this region span centuries," and "as representatives of the American people, we must do our part to stem this reprehensible tide of antisemitism and recognize Israel's rightful claim to the cradle of Jewish civilization," he added.
War broke out in Africa in 112 when a young renegade African prince, Jugurtha, massacred the Italian residents of Numidia. The first two Roman expeditionary forces sent to destroy him accomplished nothing. Then, in 109, a more competent general, Metellus, was sent out to get the job done. Again, two years of trying and two years of failure.
Frustrated to the limit, the public demanded that one of Metellus’ deputies, Gaius Marius, be appointed commander of the army. Overcoming modest origins, Marius had built a career as a knight and publican before distinguishing himself in the military. Seizing the opportunity to cap his career, Marius obtained a consulship for himself in addition to the commander’s role.
Before going to war against the Numidians, Marius trained his soldiers extensively and modified Roman battle tactics. He also made his soldiers professionals by removing the property qualification. Even though this new motivated army won a series of impressive battles in Numidia, Marius was unable to defeat Jugurtha until the young prince was captured by a treachery in 104. His capture was arranged by Marius’ deputy Lucius Cornelius Sulla.
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Marius was elected consul for five consecutive years from 104-100 B.C. During that time he developed of habit of aligning himself with men who were willing to act as his political surrogates. The first of these was Saturninus who put through programs to provide land for Marius’ veterans. It wasn't long, however, before Saturninus got out of control and started to murder his political opponents. Marius, unwilling to stand for wholesale lawlessness, removed his support and raised an improvised army which destroyed Saturninus and his followers. During this period of instability, Marius’ lack of principle was exposed and he decided to go into retirement.
Sen. Mullin Bridges Gap With House Republicans
Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., has become something of a "House whisperer" to his Senate Republican colleagues, Politico reported.
Mullin, who was elected to the Senate after a decade in the House, has shown the ability to help the two chambers find common ground as they butt heads on how to advance President Trump's agenda.
"He plays a very constructive role," Senate Majority Leader John Thune told Politico. "He's just a guy who is always looking and driving to try to get things done."
Thune had credited Mullin with helping to open useful "lines of communication."
He told department employees to be open in suggesting how the Forest Service can best serve the country. Moore's announced retirement date is March 3.
The National Parks Conservation Association has responded to Forest Service layoffs and resignations with a tone of alarm.
Kristen Brengel, the association Senior Vice President of Government Affairs, said the Forest Service is facing a "crisis".
"In a matter of weeks, 9% of Park Service staff have been lost to mass firings and resignations," she said. "And this is on top of hundreds of vacant positions that can't be filled due to the ongoing hiring freeze. These indiscriminate cuts are neither strategic nor efficient; they are devastating."
Brengel is calling on the Trump administration to pull back its spending cuts.
Then in 87 B.C. another opportunist named Sulpicius brought Marius back to Rome as a military backer for a set of reforms designed to weaken the Senate. These measures were a direct attack on the emerging power of Sulla who marched on Rome and took the city.
Marius fled to Africa but returned again to join the conspiracy of Cinna who was able to retake the Rome while Sulla was in the east during the year 86 B.C. Marius died of a heart attack the next year.
Supreme Court to Hear Straight Woman's Reverse Discrimination Case
The plaintiff, Marlean Ames, is asking the justices to revive her civil rights lawsuit against her employer, Ohio's Department of Youth Services, after lower courts threw it out.
The U.S. Supreme Court began hearing arguments on Wednesday in an Ohio woman's claim that she was denied a promotion and demoted because she is straight in a case that could make it easier for people from "majority backgrounds," such as white or heterosexual people, to pursue workplace discrimination claims.
The plaintiff, Marlean Ames, is asking the justices to revive her civil rights lawsuit against her employer, Ohio's Department of Youth Services, after lower courts threw it out. The arguments were ongoing.
"But that's not consistent with the statute that tells us that we're supposed to protect all individuals from individual discrimination based on the individual case," Wang added.
Conservative Justice Amy Coney Barrett asked Wang to address the concern expressed by Ohio that ruling in favor of Ames would "throw the door wide open to Title VII suits, because now everybody can say, 'Hey, this was discrimination on the basis of race, gender, et cetera.'"
The NAACP Legal Defense & Educational Fund and other civil rights groups told the Supreme Court in a legal filing that Ames is asking the justices "to interpret Title VII in a way that ignores the realities of this country's persisting legacy of discrimination in evaluating disparate-treatment claims."
Why the Roman Republic Failed and What It Means to Us - Part I
I am going to embark on a series of posts that describe the fall of the Roman Republic and what it reveals to us about governments and human behavior. We can argue back and forth about the value of history to the present, but I happen to believe that human beings have acted the same way for several thousand years, so we can use history as a lens into the future of contemporary political systems.
The Roman Republic experienced a radical impoverishment of the lower class, starting around the mid-second century B.C. Since the army was made up of landholders, those killed in battle left families challenged with respect to maintaining the farms, and those who did not die went into debt while they were away, because their land was not worked. Citizens lost their property which fell into the hands of the rich and the newly impoverished migrated to the city looking for work. On top of all this, Rome began to import large amounts of grain (particularly wheat from Sicily), which drove prices down for the Roman farmer. The end result over time was the concentration of farmland in the hands of the rich and the growth of a permanent underclass in the city.
The aristocratic class was divided over what to do about the problem – liberals wanted to help the poor; conservatives did not care to.
Bezos Shifts WashPost Focus; Opinion Editor Out
Washington Post owner Jeff Bezos said Wednesday that the newspaper's opinion editor, David Shipley, "decided to step away" after Bezos' decision to shift the opinion pages to emphasize "personal liberties and free markets."
Washington Post owner Jeff Bezos said Wednesday that the newspaper's opinion editor, David Shipley, "decided to step away" after Bezos' decision to shift the opinion pages to emphasize "personal liberties and free markets."
Bezos, the billionaire Amazon founder who bought the Post in 2013, told Post employees about Shipley through a note on X.
"I offered David Shipley, whom I greatly admire, the opportunity to lead this new chapter. I suggested to him that if the answer wasn't 'hell yes,' then it had to be 'no,'" Bezos said. "After careful consideration, David decided to step away."
In 83, Marius was defeated by the Patrician general Sulla who proclaimed himself dictator. Sulla was one of the last idealists in the Republic, spending a year reforming the governmental apparatus as an attempt to save the Republic. When his work was complete, Sulla retired and gave up his position. His reforms came to nothing as is always the case in history when men think idealism can overcome political momentum.
The seventies and sixties B.C. brought many wars and the emergence of Caesar, Pompey, and Crassus as military rivals. These three men would seal the fate of the Republic when they formed the first triumvirate in 59 B.C.
Bezos said that America's success comes from "freedom in the economic realm and everywhere else." He also wrote that the viewpoints of markets and liberties are "underserved in the current market of ideas and news opinion. I'm excited for us together to fill that void."
Wednesday's announcement also led a key figure at the Washington Post, chief economics reporter Jeff Stein, to threaten his resignation.
"Massive encroachment by Jeff Bezos into The Washington Post's opinion section today - makes clear dissenting views will not be published or tolerated there," Stein posted on X.
"I still have not felt encroachment on my journalism on the news side of coverage, but if Bezos tries interfering with the news side I will be quitting immediately and letting you know."
Iran Accelerates Production of Near Weapons-Grade Uranium
Iran has accelerated its production of near weapons-grade uranium as tensions between Tehran and Washington rise after the election of U.S. President Donald Trump, a report by the United Nations' nuclear watchdog seen by The Associated Press on Wednesday showed.
Iran has accelerated its production of near weapons-grade uranium as tensions between Tehran and Washington rise after the election of U.S. President Donald Trump, a report by the United Nations' nuclear watchdog seen by The Associated Press on Wednesday showed.
The report by the Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency said that as of Feb. 8, Iran has 274.8 kilograms (605.8 pounds) of uranium enriched up to 60%. That's an increase of 92.5 kilograms (203.9 pounds) since the IAEA's last report in November.
That material is a short, technical step away from weapons-grade levels of 90%.
Iran's accelerated production of near weapons-grade uranium puts more pressure on Trump as he's repeatedly said he's open to negotiations with the Islamic Republic while also increasingly targeting Iran's oil sales with sanctions as part of his reimposed "maximum pressure" policy.
Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has final say on all state matters, in a speech in August opened the door to talks with the U.S., saying there is "no harm" in engaging with the "enemy."
However, more recently he tempered that, saying that negotiations with America "are not intelligent, wise or honorable" after Trump floated nuclear talks with Tehran.
Iran has maintained its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes only, but IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi has previously warned that Tehran has enough uranium enriched to near-weapons-grade levels to make "several" nuclear bombs if it chose to do so.
“Appius stuck to his guns, ugly though the situation was, and serious bloodshed was avoided only by the action of the other consul, Quinctius, who prevailed on the other senators on consular rank to get Appius out of the forum by force, if necessary.”
I was amused by “stuck to his guns” because that was an obviously modern term applied to the translation. I wondered what the exact Latin text was and how much was added to the literal translation. After all, they say you can’t read Pushkin in English. Is the lost meaning as significant in Latin as Russian?
Alibaba makes AI video generation model free to use globally
Open-source AI tech has been thrown into the spotlight since Chinese firm DeepSeek rattled global markets in January.
Alibaba on Wednesday said that it has made its video generation artificial intelligence models free to use, further ramping up competition with rivals like OpenAI.
The Chinese giant said it is open sourcing four models that are part of its Wan2.1 series, the latest version of the company's foundational AI model that can generate images and video from text and image inputs.
#ALIBABA #ai #video #generator
This would be impressive. $40 is so high already to affor Premium + on X for Grok usage.
I am not sure if Grok offers video generation. I never looked at it that closely.
Haha I'm pretty sure OpenAI is just side eyeing them hard right now. More free tools mean more crazy AI videos popping up everywhere, and that's when the AI video revolution can kick in harder than what's going on right now
!summarize #tesla #germany
!summarize #claude #ai #gaming
When games become easier to make the good part hopefully is gamers will pay less to play the really high graphics games like GTA and I'm wondering if LeoAI can one day be used to build stuff like games
Super Micro files financials just ahead of Nasdaq deadline and says it's 'regained compliance,' stock pops 22%
Super Micro Computer filed its annual report for the year that ended June 30, meeting a deadline to stay listed on Nasdaq.
Super Micro Computer reported its delayed financial results on Tuesday just in time to meet the Nasdaq's listing deadline. Shares of the server maker popped 22% in extended trading after the filing.
"In our opinion, the consolidated financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the Company at June 30, 2024," BDO, the company's auditor, wrote in the filing, adding that the results are "in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted" in the U.S.
#nasdaq #supermicro #stock #filing
Super Micro filed updated and audited financials with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for its fiscal 2024, ending in June, and the first two quarters of the company's fiscal 2025. The filing reduces any near-term possibility that the server maker could be delisted from the Nasdaq, an overhang that had weighed on Super Micro's stock price.
"The Company has received correspondence from the Nasdaq staff that the Company has regained compliance with the filing requirements, and the matter is now closed," Super Micro said in a press release.
They were cutting it close with that deadline, but at least they pulled it off
A 22% stock pop is no joke man. Funny how a single filing can make or break a company’s momentum just like that
Perplexity AI launching $50 million venture fund to back early-stage startups
Perplexity AI is getting ready to launch a $50 million fund focused on pre-seed and seed artificial intelligence startups in the U.S., CNBC has learned.
Perplexity AI, the developer of a popular artificial intelligence search engine, is close to raising a $50 million venture fund focused on early-stage AI startups, CNBC has learned.
The company will be an anchor investor in the fund, but most of the capital is coming from outside limited partners, according to a person familiar with the matter who asked not to be named because the information is confidential.
#perplexity #ai #startups #funding
Do we really need more AI options or best ways to maximize the available?
Why do you think more options is not a positive?
The two general partners of the fund are also coming from elsewhere. They are Kelly Graziadei and Joanna Lee Shevelenko, who have been running early-stage fund f7 Ventures, the person said. According to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange from October, Perplexity F7 Fund I had filed to raise $50 million. Graziadei and Shevelenko are named as the two general partners.
Perplexity AI has been in the middle of the generative AI boom that began in late 2022 with the launch of OpenAI's ChatGPT. CNBC reported in November that the company was in the final stages of raising $500 million in funding at a $9 billion valuation. Perplexity AI is viewed as a potential competitor to Google as more consumers turn to AI to search for information online.
$50 million for AI startups, that's a huge chunk man. I'm just imagining pitching an idea like maybe an AI that writes dad jokes for creators and walking out with a fat check. Yeah probably going to need to bring in more value
Amazon unveils a new and improved Alexa, Alexa+
At an event in NYC, Amazon announced an upgraded Alexa experienced powered by generative AI tech.
At an event in NYC on Wednesday, Amazon announced an upgraded Alexa experience — Alexa+ — powered by generative AI technologies. Onstage, Amazon’s devices and services chief Panos Panay called it a “complete re-architecture” of the AI assistant.
“[W]hile the vision of Alexa has been ambitious and remains incredibly compelling, until right this moment — right this moment — we have been limited by the technology,” Panay said. “An AI chatbot on its own doesn’t get us to our vision of Alexa.”
#amazon #alexa #alexa+ #agent
Amazon says that the new Alexa can answer questions like “How many books have I read this year?,” drawing on info from an Amazon customer’s account. It can notify users when, for example, new tickets for a concert drop, and help with certain tasks like booking a dinner reservation.
“The new Alexa knows almost [everything] in your life — your schedule, your smart home, your preferences, the devices you’re using, the people you’re connected [to and] the entertainment you [enjoy],” Panay said.
Like other assistants on the market, the upgraded Alexa has visual understanding. Through a device’s camera, it can ingest a video feed and respond to questions, taking whatever’s happening in the footage into account.
Alexa+ can read, summarize and recall lengthy documents
At Amazon's annual Devices & Services event on Wednesday, the company introduced Alexa+, an enhanced version of its voice assistant, now powered by Amazon showcased how users can share documents with Alexa+, allowing it to recall important details and answer questions about those documents.
During the demonstration, Amazon showcased how users can share documents with Alexa+, allowing it to recall important details and answer questions about those documents.
Mara Segal, director of Alexa, provided several examples of how this feature works. In one instance, she asked Alexa+, “From grandma’s zucchini bread recipe, how much oil did it need?” Alexa+ was able to extract the answer from the recipe that had been previously uploaded.
#amazon #alexa+ #llm #model #ai
In a more complex scenario, a user can upload a document from their Homeowners Association (HOA) and ask questions about the guidelines, which many people tend to overlook.
Additionally, users can forward multiple emails from a child’s school to Alexa+, extracting and summarizing the essential information. It can also help manage their calendars to ensure they don’t miss important school events.
Amazon demonstrated several Alexa+ features at the event, including the ability to jump to different movie scenes on Prime Video and control smart home devices, allowing users to move music between speakers in different rooms.
Alexa+ can do your grocery shopping, too
Amazon is not giving up on making its Alexa a virtual shopping assistant, On Wednesday, the company announced that Alexa+, its revamped Alexa experience, will be able to help consumers grocery shop from home using more natural conversations and requests.
The feature will work with Amazon Fresh or any other grocery partner working with Amazon, the retailer noted. Food delivery from partners like Uber Eats is also available.
Instead of simply listing out ingredients you need by voice, Amazon showed how you could also chat with Alexa as she helps you build your shopping list.
#amazon #grocery #shopping
For example, the company demoed asking Alexa to get “everything we need for banana bread,” except the spices, and said they also wanted to cook that “Bob’s Red Mill pancake mix.” Oh, and they needed syrup and a few more eggs, too.
Alexa understood these natural language requests and turned them into grocery list items.
Plus, Alexa was able to adjust quantities on the fly when asked to “make it two and a half gallons instead of a gallon” of milk, for instance.
The assistant was also able to make recommendations of what to cook for a five-year-old dinner guest by suggesting some pasta options that kids tended to like.
YouTube surpasses 1B monthly podcast viewers
YouTube continues to assert its dominance in the podcasting space, presenting significant competition to both Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
YouTube continues to assert its dominance in the podcasting space, presenting significant competition to both Spotify and Apple Podcasts. In an announcement on Wednesday, the company revealed YouTube has surpassed 1 billion monthly active podcast viewers.
This milestone highlights YouTube’s popularity in the podcast industry and emphasizes consumer preference for video-first formats. Last year, YouTube reported that over 400 million hours of podcast content were watched on living room TVs.
#youtube #Podcasts #television #media
YouTube’s biggest rival in the podcast industry, Spotify, has taken notice and has been embracing video content to attract hosts and users. Recently, Spotify increased its investment in video-first podcasting, starting to pay popular video hosts in November 2024. This move may help Spotify catch up to YouTube, which already shares billions in ad revenue with creators.
Additionally, YouTube announced that it’s implementing changes to mid-roll ads aimed at enhancing the viewing experience while also enabling creators to possibly earn more revenue. Beginning May 12, YouTube will place mid-roll ads at appropriate break points in videos, such as pauses and transitions, rather than disrupting videos with an ad in the middle of a conversation or action sequence.
Microsoft finalizes its EU sovereign cloud project
Microsoft says that it has completed a multi-year project to allow Europe-based customers using its cloud services to store and process data in the EU.
The project, the EU Data Boundary for the Microsoft Cloud, began in January 2023, went on for two more years, and finally wrapped up this February, Microsoft said. With its completion, European customers can store and process data for Microsoft core cloud services, including Microsoft 365, Dynamics 365, Power Platform, and most Azure services, within the EU and European Free Trade Association regions (EFTA).
#microsoft #eu #cloud #data
A growing number of tech giants and cloud providers offer European data residency programs along the lines of the EU Data Boundary. These help customers comply with European local privacy and data protection laws like the GDPR, Germany’s Federal Data Protection Act, and the U.K.’s data protection legislation. Data residency refers to the physical location of an organization’s data, as well as the local laws and policy requirements imposed on that data.
According to Microsoft, for cloud services supported by the EU Data Boundary, customer data and “pseudonymized” personal data are stored and processed in datacenters located in countries within the EU or EFTA. “Professional services data,” which includes data that’s provided to Microsoft, like certain log data, is stored at rest.
Google makes it easier to delete personal info from Search results
Google is updating its "Results about you" tool to make it easier for users to protect and remove their personal information from Search results.
Google announced on Wednesday that it’s updating its “Results about you” tool to make it easier for users to protect and remove their personal information from Search results. The company says it’s improved the sign-up process and simplified requesting removals directly from Google Search.
The tool can be used to proactively monitor and delete things like your phone number, email address, or physical address from Search results.
#google #search #information #personal #search
With this latest update, users can now click the three dots next to a Google Search result to see an updated menu that lets you submit a removal request right away via the “remove this results” option.
In the past, you would have had to navigate to the “Results about you” tool, which was hidden away in your Google account settings.
There can never be another actor like Jackie Chan. Do you still watch his movies?
